Break You
by Sungirl92
Summary: He was a carcinogenic force hell-bent on breaking her, the solid wall enamoured by a very different kind of monster. Their intertwining fates collapse into misfortune, one after another, like dominoes falling down. Izaya/OC/Shizuo.
1. Chapter 1

**Break You**

**Disclaimer: **I'm curious as to whether this is in the guidelines, because I've never actually read the guidelines...anyhow, don't own Durarara**  
**

**Chapter 1**

Heiwajima Shizuo was supposedly a brute. If one were to adopt the style of a self-help book, they would say 'He did not control his anger, anger controlled him' and that was precisely the reason why she was fascinated by him.

"You make it so obvious when you stare like that, close your mouth Nene-chan," Kimi told her, taking a seat beside her on the stands surrounding the sports field.

"My mouth wasn't open," drawled Nene. Tucking her hands underneath her bum and leaning forwards, her eyes mechanically followed a young man as he threw a bat at a bespectacled fellow.

"It was."

The seventeen year old threw one leg over the bench effectively saddling it, and stared at Kimi's backpack while impatiently bouncing her knee. Kimi glared back placing her hands on her hips with the haughty superiority of a true heiress. Alas, the permafrost resolve didn't last long, thawing under entreating dark eyes, sunken eyebrows and pouted lips.

A true extortionist_,_ thought Kimi, arms momentarily dropping to her sides in limp defeat before she snatched up her bag and rifled through it a little viciously.

"Here," she snapped, flinging a Tupperware box into Nene's lap. "You probably won't like it."

"Don't be silly," drawled Nene, her wanton expression paved over by a cement like impenetrability. "I love..." Nene lifted it high above her, scrutinising it in the light, "Sponge cake?"

"_Kasutera_," corrected Kimi, pursing her lips.

"Are you in a –CHOMP- fad moo Umi-han?" mumbled Nene, having already devoured half the cake in one bite.

Kimi huffed out a sigh. "I just got off the phone with Otou-san. He's threatening to cut my allowance."

Nene's eyes rounded fearfully and she reached out to clutch Kimi's hands, "He can't do that!"

"Who are you more worried about, me or you?" exclaimed the black haired girl, snatching her hands away.

"Me of course. If your allowance gets cut, where will I live?" said Nene in a deadpan, as she prepared to inhale the remaining half of her dessert.

Without another word, Kimi plucked the slice out of Nene's hands and popped it into her mouth, a smug grin extending over her inflated face. Eyes narrowing, the failed extortionist folded her arms across her chest and harrumphed childishly.

"I hope you choke," she grumbled, throwing her body in the other direction and refusing to look at her lifelong friend.

"Oh but then where would you live?"

The two commenced sniggering and before long Nene had produced her own Tupperware container and split between them the residing mochi.

For them, it had always been easy to dispel any tension. Having been together so long, the petty disagreements were entertaining frills on an otherwise stable relationship.

Toyoshima Kimi was a force, an unstoppable hurricane, brazen in her convictions and headstrong. Some would look at her quick tongue and unforgiving sneer and conclude that she was a teenager riddled with her own insecurities, but such was not the case. Arrogance was her forte because her true self-belief was that she was _amazing_, all the guys wanted _her_ and she was _always_ right. Those who opposed her would be dealt with. But did that mean she was a horrible person? Unfortunately, the answer would be depend on the person giving it. After all, the hurricane would only arrive if the right conditions were set.

Now Akiyama Nene was different. Unlike Kimi who was either loved or hated, people did not know what to make of her. Some called her Kimi's voice of reason; other's the enabler who watched uninterestedly as Kimi unleashed herself on the public. Perhaps both characterisations were correct. As Nene's name suggested, she enjoyed calm and found the idea of getting involved in conflicts tedious. If she were able to prevent her friend from engaging in a pointless argument, she would happily do so, but if the situation had reached the tipping point, she would step back and let events unfold.

However, despite her being overly Zen at times, there was a peculiar inquisitiveness in her gaze. She wouldn't glimpse, but absorb everything around her, as if the filter in her senses had malfunctioned during infancy. It wasn't a morbid fascination like that of her senpai Kishitani, but it delighted her to analyse and learn, to go home and research the mechanisms behind an action, like how fast a robin's wings beat.

Maybe that was what drew her to Shizuo. In his manner, he was frank, cutting through the bullshit and heading straight for the truth, which meant there was nothing to analyse. No... because he lacked the complexity of a normal human's personality, he _could_ not be analysed. Truth be told, Nene used to wonder about the origins of his strength, but she put a stop to these thoughts when she realised how little he cared about it.

"You're thinking about him again," Kimi said airily, slamming her locker door shut. "I think it's about time Nene-chan worked up the courage to speak to him."

Nene's cheeks flushed bright red at the thought of talking to him. All her life, she'd been under the distinct impression that people used idle chitchat in order to get over the figurative hump of the 'first meeting'.

Heiwajima Shizuo had not.

"I wouldn't know what to say," muttered Nene, staring up at the ceiling and counting the tiles in hopes that it would bring down her temperature.

"I've talked to him before," said Kimi, crinkling her nose. "I don't like him."

"That's because he doesn't like you," Nene pointed out. "You made me lose count."

Kimi pulled Nene's chin down and smiled at her, "If you're scared I'll go with you."

Nene shook her head. "I don't want to talk to him."

Shrugging her shoulders, Kimi pivoted on one foot and walked towards the school's exit. "Ja ne."

"You're not going to wait with me?" called out Nene, eyebrows shooting into the air.

A wave and then the figure disappeared around the corner.

In the middle of the corridor, with her oversized shoulder bag threatening to tip her over, she wondered what to do. She was sure no one she knew would be hanging about in the school since not one of her friends had ever shown an interest in philosophy. Even Nene had been sceptical at first; it wasn't until the school had abolished the bird watchers club and with few unusual and untried options left, she was forced to turn to the undefined.

There were five minutes left till it started, so the lonesome girl started walking in the direction of the class. Before she could get anywhere near it though, a loud crash resounded and the inevitable piquing of her curiosity sent her rushing through the walkway that led out of the school and into the sports field.

"I-ZAY-A!" roared a familiar voice.

On the far side of the grounds, Heiwajima Shizuo stood panting with his arms raised high above his head, holding a mangled piece of the goal posts. Directly in front of her was Orihara Izaya, also panting but with a more inconspicuous flick blade in his possession.

Neither of them seemed to notice that she was there, which was definitely something to worry about. Seeing what they'd already done to the place, Nene realised she too would be accounted as collateral damage if she didn't get out of their fast. Unfortunately, despite the logic being there, her emotions hadn't quite caught up.

In the past when Kimi had said, it wasn't just curiosity drawing her to Shizuo, but a physical and emotional attraction, Nene had easily dismissed it. Glued to the spot by the sight of him unrestrainedly displaying his beastly power, she was starting to understand what Kimi meant.

She had a _crush_ on him and not just because of how interestingly simple he was, but because she was a teenager packed with hormones, and she was attracted to him both mentally and physically. Even now, in her warped mind she shivered at the sight of him in all his _manly fortitude_.

_Am I masochist? _she faltered nervously in her mind.

"Shizu-_chan_," Izaya's silken voice cooed. "If you throw that now, you might end up hitting poor Nene-chan."

So he had noticed her arrival.

Shizuo's seething glare transferred from Izaya to the girl behind him with quaking knees and an expression of utter embarrassment on her face. She quaked because she was overwhelmed by the fact that Shizuo had deigned to look at her, embarrassed because, as Izaya pointed out, she had fast become a hindrance.

Her first impression on the person she'd been smitten with for over a year would be that of a _hindrance_. Excellent.

It would have been wise to move, and she would have, were it not for Izaya edging backwards, smiling suspiciously at her.

"Byebye Shizu-chan," sang Izaya.

Suddenly he seized her hand sprinted back into the building, ignoring her yelp of protest.

While she was hauled down the corridor, Nene heard what she could only assume was the goal post crashing into the side of the building. A part of her was grateful to Izaya for leading her away from the chaos; another, more prominent part of her was appalled by his using her as a human shield.

"Hey," she exclaimed, stopping dead. Her hand was still firmly in Izaya's and to prevent him from running away, she tightened her grip.

The senior jerked his head back in regard and noting her artificial steely glare, twisted round fully, a curious smile on his face.

"That was low," snapped Nene, more harshly than she intended. Being confrontational was not as easy as it looked.

"Ah, sorry Nene-chan, but you understand why I did it?" said Izaya.

"That... that wasn't my problem and what you did was shameful. You should fight your own battles," she said, her tone oscillating between harsh and half-interested.

Izaya sighed. "But Nene-chan I was really looking out for you. If I hadn't told Shizu-chan you were there, he would have thrown that goal post and both of us would have been crushed and if I hadn't grabbed you, you might have still been crushed."

He had a strangely persuasive way of putting things that made his argument seem logical and if Nene hadn't been so accustomed to resorting to base manipulation to get her own way, mostly with Kimi, she would have fallen for it.

"I could have run away after you let him know I was there," she pointed out.

"But then _I_ would have been crushed," mewled Izaya.

Nene's eyes narrowed, "Fine, but if you know how Heiwajima-senpai reacts, why do you keep antagonising him?"

Izaya's wounded expression transformed into an indifferent smile. "It's interesting," he said simply.

"That's a little sad," muttered Nene.

She released her hold on Izaya, deeming him a little too deranged to get involved with and stalked wordlessly passed him towards her Philosophy class.

"Sad?" Izaya called after her, chuckling.

Nene was already contemplating if and how she would apologise to Shizuo and didn't respond. Unfortunately, she was interrupted when Izaya, the very person she'd been marching away from, sprung up beside her. It wasn't that surprising; Izaya was notorious for wheedling his way into people's heads for whatever malignant purpose and it appeared he'd found his next target, something Nene didn't appreciate.

"Sad?" he repeated as he skipped alongside her.

"Yep."

They'd reached the classroom now and Nene slid in without a backwards glance at her escort. What did unsettle her was his following her inside and taking a seat at the desk beside her.

How could she have forgotten that he was one of the fifteen students involved in the same activity? Perhaps because before that day he had sat on the opposite side of the class and like her, made himself invisible by participating as little as possible. In fact, the remaining thirteen students and teacher made enough of a fuss about the subject, that disappearing into the furnishings was an easy feat.

"Yo, Nene-chan," sang Izaya, waving his hand at her.

She wiggled her fingers briefly in response and then opened up her booklet and began re-reading her notes on the previous session.

"What's that?"

"Notes."

"You make notes?" he asked, feigning interest.

"Yep."

"Seems a bit redundant in a philosophy class?" he said, innocently.

* * *

When class had finished, Izaya, who had spent most of it asking Nene questions to which she refused to respond, offered to walk her home. Her polite declines fell on deaf ears for her senpai remained by her side and although he persevered with his interrogation, she'd resolved to give him as little information as possible about herself. It wasn't a habit of hers to be callous and difficult but she'd heard all the rumours, about the fan girls chasing after the slippery creature. She imagined Orihara Izaya as a puppet master, who used nerve cells as strings, sculpting their pliable naiveté into flesh marionettes and Nene was averse to joining the ranks.

"So how do you like Raijin Academy?" asked Izaya as they reached their fourteenth minute walking home together.

"I've been here just a year less than you?" she said, casting him with a dubious look.

"Well I've never had the chance to speak to Nene-chan before." His unsettling smile rarely faltered, and Nene resisted the urge to call him out on all the rumours.

"We've talked about me non-stop," she exclaimed, punching his shoulder lightly. "Let's talk about you."

Here his unsettling smile fell away completely, replaced with eyes wary of the odd change of topic.

"Mmm, what do you want to talk about?" he asked her, sounding bored.

"Um," pondered Nene, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Two younger sisters," said Izaya. There was no trace of brotherly affection in his voice, only a rueful sigh underlying the statement.

"You don't sound very happy about that."

His smile returned. "Of course not, I despise them."

"And I'm sure they despise you too," said Nene, patronisingly.

"There's no doubt."

"What are your _likes_? Your _dislikes_?" she continued her questioning with a newfound zeal.

It was her opinion that Izaya was Shizuo's polar opposite and in that respect, a mind made up of intricate, interweaving passageways, trick mirrors and trap doors and lastly in the furthest reaches, guarded by a cast-iron door, the _Bloody Chamber_. Though at the time she was interested, finding out everything about Orihara Izaya would never become a priority considering how common a specimen he was in her world. 'Ten a penny.' At least that was her belief _at the time_.

"Humans... Shizu-chan, in that order," was Izaya's peculiar answer. "But I guess that's what I love and hate really."

"You love humans?" echoed Nene, disturbed by the notion of loving one's species. "Humans or people?"

Izaya cocked his head to the side, fixing her with his brown eyes that, in the setting sun looked alarmingly maroon and said "Mmm, what difference does it make?"

She took a thoughtful pause before answering. "When you say... humans, it's like you're saying you're not one yourself. I'm not sure if that makes sense-"

"No Nene_-_chan makes perfect sense," he interrupted, adding sinisterly on the end, "But what if I'm _not _human?"

Though she had no idea where Izaya was going with this, she realised that she preferred his false smile to the look of concentration he'd fixed her with then. It dissolved the people around them until they were the only two on the street and every twitch, every word, and every breath she exhaled would be noted down and dissected by a mastermind she underestimated even then.

"You are human," said Nene, with the finality she reserved for when Kimi directed a rant her way.

"That's speculation," he indicated, seeming disappointed by her response as he pointed his intense stare away from her.

"No it's not," she retorted, adamant to hold her ground.

Izaya's eyes rolled back to her, and the world dissolved again.

"Because..." Nene continued, playing it by ear, "being a sociopath doesn't mean you're not human."

The words could not be recalled despite how hard she sucked her mouth in. It wasn't that she regretted her impromptu psychological diagnosis, because she truly did believe he was a sociopath, but something told her that revealing her suspicions was en route to tying herself up and hopping into the serial killer's van.

"A sociopath," he cried out exaggeratedly, putting a hand on his chest. "That's hurtful Nene-chan."

Nene stopped in the middle of the street and extended her hand. "It was nice talking with you Orihara-s-"

"Please, Izaya."

"-Izaya-san, I would prefer it if you didn't walk me the rest of the way home," she said the last half of her sentence dryly, hoping to get the point across.

Taking the hand she'd offered him, he tugged her forward so there fronts nearly touched, grabbing her other arm in a vice like grip.

"Don't tell me Nene-chan is scared of me?" he said in a low voice, bearing a ruthless smile.

Several years ago, something had happened in Kimi and Nene's lives. Their experience gave them a revelation of sorts.

They were weak.

This didn't sit well with either of them, especially Kimi who even at a young age distinguished herself from the crowd as a superior being. The claustrophobic Nene on the other hand, couldn't fathom the idea of being trapped and becoming someone's prey. It irked her, just as Orihara Izaya did.

Years of regular martial arts lessons following that incident, thought Nene derisively, had led to this one definitive moment.

Nene stepped back, grabbed Izaya's wrists and twisted them outwards so his body automatically bent forward, leaving his chest completely open. Before he could recover from the shock, she threw her knee forwards and landed a vicious strike on his solar plexus.

One of the most fearsome students in Raijin academy grunted and buckled to his knees.

This all lasted less than a few seconds

Without sparing him a backwards glance, Nene fled the scene, praying that the repercussions wouldn't be as severe as his reputation suggested.

* * *

"D-did you see that?" stuttered Shinra.

Shizuo released the iron railing he'd uprooted from the sidewalk. There was no need for it now as the object of his rage lay wheezing on the ground.

"Shizuo?"

"Yeah, I saw it," said Shizuo, an indiscernible smirk touching his lips.

"She immobilised him," exclaimed Shinra, "in one blow!"

Shizuo grunted, "She had the element of surprise."

"Still, to take on Izaya like that, Nene-san must be crazy."

Shooting his companion a wry glance, Shizuo shoved his hands in his pockets and carried on walking down the street. There was no need to attack Izaya at that moment, he'd rather let the flea writhe in the shame of being bested by a girl. It was, without a doubt, satisfying.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Hey, I feel oddly fail for posting up this random Fan-fiction, but if any of my regular readers are reading this then you'll all know that if I get into anything I need to write a Fan-fiction about it so I can get over it. It's sort of cathartic you might say. And lo and behold, I have recently become obsessed with Durarara and have decided to riddle you with more cathartic crap. I also feel a bit silly for doing this since my A2 exams are in a couple of days and I've basically spent study leave obsessing over Durarara... sad times my friends. At the end of the day, I wrote this for fun because I enjoy experimenting with interactions between awkward characters and such, and I hope whoever reads this enjoys it too :)


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hi, I'd like to thank those that reviewed me, put this story down as their favourites or for an alert. Put a big creepy smile on my face when I was checking my email on the bus._

**Break You**

**Chapter 2**

Nene wasn't a social butterfly but sometimes, what with her curious nature she was able to connect with the most unlikely types.

"If you can walk up to Kadota Kyohei and sit down at his table like you were old friends," Kimi said after school, "You can go say hello to Shizuo."

"Kyohei-senpai and I barely talk. We just sit together for lunch," said Nene, throwing her a tired glare.

"Don't look at me like that," said Kimi, raising her eyebrow and folding her arms across her seemingly ample chest. "Man the hell up!"

"You stuffed a lot of tissue paper in today didn't you Kimi-chan," said Nene with a sigh.

"I have a date and I want to look good," Kimi clarified snippily.

"What if he gets to second base?"

The Kleenex endorsement scoffed. "As if I'd let _him_ get to second base that easily."

"Okay, but what happens when-"

"If," she corrected.

"-_If_ he does eventually get to second base? How are you going to explain your deflated chest then?" Nene queried, grilling her like the barrister would a witness.

They turned onto the main street and spotted Kimi's date waving animatedly at them from the other side in front of Russia Sushi. Handsome though he was, Kimi felt the sag of disappointment at witnessing him trip up on his feet as he tried to run across the road to her.

"I don't think that's even a _hypothetical_ possibility," said the girl dejectedly. She put her hand up to indicate he stay put and with the imparting words, "Do wait up, I'll be home early," walked off.

Nene waited a few seconds, watching the one-sided hug Kimi was forced to endure with sadistic delight before hitching up her shoulder bag and spinning the other way...

"Nene-chan!"

...where her face thumped against a chest.

* * *

Before yesterday, Akiyama Nene was a name he had heard but paid no mind to. Although she and Toyoshima Kimi were not attached at the hip like most best friends during adolescence, there was an unspoken law against messing with Nene. Few opted to breach it considering Kimi's infamous tongue. For a long time it seemed even Izaya feared her reaction and so never meandered down that perilous road, sadly Nene had merely failed to interest him.

If Kimi could not be manipulated then as a rule no good friend of hers could either. The outspoken female with a superiority complex rarely kept company with people she didn't respect so Izaya wrote Nene off.

Until now.

Yesterday he'd seen the look she'd given Shizuo. It wasn't how females usually reacted upon seeing the monster's terrifying strength. It was admiration.

In fact, no one had ever looked at Shizuo like that before. It intrigued Izaya. The moment he'd grabbed her hand his plan had been set in motion.

What he hadn't counted on was the knee kick. That had taken him off guard. As a person who prided himself on his analytical abilities, he was admittedly stunned by her not meeting his expectations.

Her stubborn reluctance to be around him suggested she feared him, be it because of his reputation, the ongoing war with her idol or simply his irksome nature. So he ran with that, the _fear_ and it landed him in a miscalculated heap on the floor and a sore stomach that still hadn't healed.

That's why today he'd taken some time to observe Nene closely without her knowing, which wasn't an easy feat considering how alert her receptors were.

The first thing was her abysmal plainness or at least her attempt to be plain. Her dark brown hair, she'd combed back into a taut bun that rested motionlessly on the back of her head. She wore enough make up to cover any teenage blemishes, yet even this was a half-arsed attempt done presumably to shut up the superficial best friend. Though Nene was far from hideous she did lack a certain femininity in her choice of clothes, her tone of voice and her mannerisms, leaving no doubt over why she'd remained boyfriend-less over the years.

Izaya had also noticed how distracted she looked even when people were speaking to her directly, as if there was something better going on somewhere far, far away. First he'd confused her peculiar over-attentiveness for daydreaming, an error he realised when Nene was talking to one of her classmates and despite having been staring at a couple arguing on the other end of the corridor responded easily.

That's when he realised the delectable challenge she posed as an unpredictable human. So following her home at the end of the day, he waited until she was alone to reveal himself.

"Nene-chan!" he greeted cheerfully as she smacked face first into his chest.

A pair of dark eyes blinked up at him before widening in recognition. "Izaya-san," she said quietly.

"I saw you and thought we could walk home together," he said in a chipper voice.

Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Ah, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, why does he want to walk home with me after I kneed him in the chest? What's his ulterior motive right? Don't worry Nene-chan, I don't have one-"

She opened her mouth to speak-

"-Yet."

He let out a hum of glee, its smooth texture bearing a reminder of his sinister nature.

It was his intention to put her on edge, to have her teetering between confusion and mistrust, never certain if she was resting her feet on solid tarmac or merely tar. One day, he believed nurturing such an environment would be to his advantage.

She snorted. "Are you trying to sound _ominous_?" she asked him, resuming her intended path.

With her, however, he seemed to always be miscalculating.

Though his smile remained, it had altered and there was now resentment curling the edges. "I was kidding," he chuckled shortly.

"It sounded like you were trying to be ominous."

"I'm so sorry if I came off that way," Izaya apologised sarcastically.

Nene let out laughing sigh. "You're not going to leave me alone," she muttered to herself. "And you're on your guard..."

Izaya raised his eyebrows, regarding her carefully.

"Wanna get something to eat?"

That he hadn't expected, but his expression remained the same.

"Ahhh," he sang, "Is Nene-chan asking me out on a date."

She snorted again and an unusual feeling bubbled molten in his head. "No," she clarified. "I was planning on getting something on my way home anyway."

The bubbling subsided as he realised the snort of laughter was not an arrogant one (she seemed somewhat devoid of arrogance) it was simply amused.

"Where are we going?" he said in that airy, blasé tone of his.

"Ice cream city."

* * *

An hour later, Nene, somewhat giddy with the taste of sugar on her lips was ambling towards her apartment complex down the lamp lit back roads of Ikebukuro. Izaya, who had refused to eat ice cream walked beside her, poking the noodles she'd bought for him with his fork with a look of suspicion.

"It's not poisoned," said Nene after glimpsing his narrowed eyes.

He shoved it into her hands, smirking haughtily at her. "Taste it," he commanded.

She grabbed a fork full, put it into her mouth, and then promptly chucked the cardboard container in a nearby gutter.

"My mistake," she said with a nervous laugh. "If you're still hungry? I spotted-"

Izaya shook his head before she could finish her sentence, his unsettling smile reappearing for the first time that evening. Nene put herself on guard.

"Ah, Nene-chan," he said, grinning maniacally, "you've been _such_ a waste of time."

Her brow furrowed but her silence was all the encouragement he needed. This was his day's work; it was mundane, too _easy_ and it showed. Like the feline idly stretching before it played with the already crippled mouse, he arched his back before twirling round so that he was directly in front of her, reeking of conceit.

"I have to admit that facade you put on amused me at first. Come on, you didn't expect me to _believe_ that unaffected act you put up to protect yourself from the big bad world, haha... that's right, a constructed identity is so boring... Maybe you're the one detached from humanity, Nene_-chan._"

Nene's eyes were downcast while he towered above her, looked down on her with that bitter smile scratched across his face. His lips parted briefly to exhale a dark chuckle.

"_'You take everything you can get your hands on because you have nothing to call your own_,' is that the excuse for being a sponge?" Izaya's voice was hauntingly unstable, weightless like the speaker on a meditation tape. "Your emergency contacts are listed as Kimi-san's parents—who also pay for your tuition fees; so what was it? A childhood trauma? You ran away from your emotionally abusive parents? –No, no...

"...An orphan."

She bit her lip, a tear sliding down her cheek, and Izaya, he looked sated.

"Khh-hhh-hhhkh," she wheezed, flicking the tear away with her finger.

Izaya's smile fell.

"Izaya-san," she said, her soft laughter dying, "that was... that was really_ clever_ but no, sorry to disappoint you, both parents are still alive."

He didn't say a word as she patted his shoulder on her way past him, his resolve merely deepening.

**_Some __Months Later_**

At seven thirty on the dot, the doorbell rang. Kimi crept groggily over to the door and without bothering to look through the peephole, she swung it open.

"Scumbag," she said, scowling.

"Yo, Kimi-san," greeted Izaya, his unnerving grin clawing at her delicate morning nerves.

It was their customary salutation.

Izaya slid through the gap she'd grudgingly provided and walked into the centre of the vast apartment.

"It still astonishes me how you two can afford such a luxurious place," he commented with a knowing smirk.

Kimi grumbled something under her breath.

"NENE-CHAN! SCUMBAG'S HERE!"

Izaya winced and rubbed his ear.

A head of wet hair poked out from its bedroom. "Ah, sorry, I'm not dressed yet," Nene said, disappearing again.

The routine was set a few days after Kimi's roommate had assaulted one of the most fearsome students in their high school. Initially, it seemed like Orihara Izaya was stalking her poor friend in order to recruit her into his fan girl ranks of depravation; at least that would have made more sense. What Kimi later discovered was quite the contrary, for Nene had unwittingly befriended the lunatic, the term _befriended _used loosely in this context and only used because Kimi had no idea what to call their creepy relationship.

According to Nene, he was a horrible sociopath who, at every given opportunity tried to break her and because of the difficulty of this task, hung around her more often than he did others. Understandably, this bothered Kimi.

"_What do you intend to do to Nene-chan?"_

_His response had been surprisingly frank. "Anything she lets me." _

Three weeks later and here she stood mere meters between herself and a person she'd instantly come to hate glaring at him in disgust.

"I always found that the saying 'If the wind changes, your face will stay-'"

"Shut up," she snapped, slinking off into her bedroom. "It's too early in the morning for your crap."

A few minutes later Nene came out of her room yawning and met Izaya with a lazy nod. "Where'd Kimi-chan go?"

"She said it was 'too early in the morning for my crap'," said Izaya, sulkily. "Kimi-san's so mean."

Grabbing her schoolbag, Nene disappeared into her friend's bedroom and then reappeared moments later looking glum. Silently, the two people, _people_ because friends would be putting a positive spin on their unhealthy relationship, walked out of the apartment.

Izaya, a master of opportune timing, had decided to wait until they'd exited the building and walked a reasonable distance before rubbing vinegar into the graze.

"Am I causing problems between Nene-chan and Kimi-san?" he asked, with a deliberate mixture of concern and derision in his voice.

Though they were at least over half way to the academy already, Nene spun the other way and began walking back home. Smirking, Izaya did not break stride.

For the first few days, people who had seen them together speculated that they were a disturbed couple, which stemmed from the fact that Izaya had few friends, let alone female ones. True, he had a gaggle of girls kneeling at his feet and kissing his rings wherever he went, but with Akiyama Nene there seemed to be a rapport of sorts. The theory of them being a couple was quickly rejected, not by Izaya, who had always enjoyed letting the humans think what they wanted, but by Nene who, Izaya suspected, did not want the rumour getting round to Shizuo.

Izaya himself had formulated vague motives as to why Nene allowed him to hang around her, despite the fact that he took every chance he got to stick a knife in her back and twist it.

The first explanation he'd come up with, but quickly discarded, was that she wanted to fix him. Females, he'd observed, including those in his following, were often under the misguided impression that a kind-hearted, enduring woman could eventually fix a man and then the man would fall madly and deeply in love with them. Was Nene one of these females? A tragic, disfigured version of a fan girl comprised of unrealistic expectations.

No.

She wasn't conceited and accordingly she could not develop such a fantasy. Even when she laughed, it wasn't because she looked down at him, but she seemed to genuinely find his attempts at _breaking _her funny. This immunity had at first been a vexation; then it quelled into an annoyance and gradually disappeared into a bitter taste in his mouth. He would respond to it with sarcasm and she would stop laughing and console him with a morsel of harmless information she'd picked up on her constant watch. It was always intended to be harmless, thought Izaya, but he often managed to twist it to suit his purpose. He assumed she didn't know what he meant to do with all the information she fed him, or if she did she'd just decided to turn a blind eye to his dealings.

In any case, Izaya's favourite explanation as to why Nene hadn't done the smart thing, and ran away, was that _he_ interested _her_. Not in the same way that she interested him, as that required a wicked streak Nene didn't have, but in the way a reporter searches for a back-story or a detective uses deductive reasoning to catch the culprit. She observed and she analysed and where the data flowed into an elucidating convergence, she would find fulfilment.

Therefore, it had to be his back-story that she was after. His past. His God. And when she discovered that, she would understand his present.

That was it. Nene wanted to understand him. Knowing that meant he would win, not that there was any doubt of him winning in the first place.

"Morning," Izaya said to Shinra as he slid into his seat at the back of the class.

"Ah, good morning, Izaya, nice of you to show up for once," responded the equally irksome fellow. "I see you got here unscathed."

"_Oh_? What do you mean by that?"

The cool smirk, the relaxed posture. As if he didn't know.

"You really do make me want to throw up sometimes," said Shinra, laughing hollowly.

"Aw, that's so mean Shinra-kun."

_Zzzz_

Flipping his phone up, Izaya entered the new text. It was from Nene-chan.

The cool smile steadily deteriorated as he read the message.

"_I'm sorry for running away so quickly, but your words hit the spot so I went home to talk things out with Kimi-chan. We've discussed things and I think it would be best if you and I didn't walk to school together while we patch things up._

_Thank you Izaya-san. _

_x"_

At the same time down a corridor in a separate block, two girls walked towards their respective classrooms.

"Who'd you text?" asked Kimi, undoing the first buttons of her d blouse.

"Izaya," said Nene, grinning triumphantly.

"I thought you were pissed off with him," remarked Kimi, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

"I still am," said Nene. Her smile pinched, becoming bitter like Izaya's. Feeling the toxic spasm, she promptly wiped her face clean of emotion.

"Hey where's your gym bag?" questioned her friend, pausing in the middle of her class's doorway.

Nene jumped back. Frantically patting her shoulders and arms, she found no gym bag to be on her person.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Nene exclaimed, her emotionless face splintering. "I must have...I must have dropped it! Do you have yours on you?"

Kimi shook her head. "I don't do gym today sorry but-"

Unadulterated fear widened Nene's eyes at her answer and with frightening urgency, she shot off in the direction they'd come from, abandoning Kimi midsentence

* * *

_Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? _

She repeated the mantra with the stern belief that if she said it enough times her gym bag would materialise itself out of pity.

Why was she desperate to find a gym bag that she could easily replace? It was a combination of two things.

Firstly, the idea of borrowing spare gym clothes from the school made her skin crawl. Secondly, Hayashi-sensei despised her with an unbridled passion. This was most probably because Nene didn't have even an inkling of the competitive streak inherent to humans. She thought team sports were stupid, races were stupid and the very idea of gym was stupid and Hayashi-sensei had overheard her expressing these values on more than one occasion during their lessons. It didn't help that Nene's first impression on Hayashi-sensei was of her falling asleep at the furthest end of the pitch while her gym class were involved in a spirited baseball match.

To cut a long story short, Hayashi-sensei instilled the fear of God in Nene, with all the yelling and spitting and forcing her, unprovoked, to do laps round the soccer pitch while the class did yoga exercises. So she searched like a mother who'd lost her newborn in a throng of sex offenders.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh-" Nene inhaled sharply as she began to hyperventilate, "shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit-"

She wasn't quite sure how far she'd ran, her eyes having been aimed at the floor searchingly the entire time, but when she looked up and her peripheral vision caught a flash of blonde, she stopped dead.

And she forgot all about her gym bag.

There was a bloodied bandage clumsily wrapped around his forehead, slipping over the side of his face and the rips in his clothing suggested a scuffle of sorts. Back against the wall of the building, he surveyed the field with an unreadable face, though the slight, involuntary jerk of the fingers on his right hand made her wince.

"Are you okay?" Though words left her mouth willingly, she still feared his response.

Shizuo's regarded her shortly before looking away.

"Hm," he grunted. The hand that wasn't twitching came up to his mouth and she saw a cigarette between his fingers. He inhaled deeply, eyes-closed, but when they opened, they were fixed on her, irritated by her continued presence. "...Yeah?"

She could feel the hairs at the back of her neck prickling, but knowing Shizuo would mistake her nervousness for fear, she forced herself to move closer to him.

"You should get that checked out by the nurse," she said in a small voice, her finger pointed towards his hand. "The muscles in your hands could be damaged-"

"Go away," he growled, taking another puff of his cigarette.

She straightened up her spine. Mustering up all her courage, dragging it out of the corners of her cowardly heart she walked forward. In a fraction of a second, Nene had stretched her hands up to his head, lifted away the haphazardly applied bandages.

Shocked, utterly shocked, Shizuo said nothing as she peered at the bloodied cut on his his hairline.

"Where'd you get those bandages from?" It was said so quietly she wasn't sure he heard her.

"From home."

"Do you have anymore?"

He shrugged his shoulder where his bag rested and the dark haired girl disentangled it from his arm, surprised when he didn't object to her ransacking it for the bandages.

Shizuo's eyes that had been been fixed on her searchingly the whole time, narrowed in recognition. His voice turned ice cold. "...You hang out with that flea?"

"I do." She'd found the bandages and they lay in her limp grasp as she stared worriedly at his dark expression. The confession had made the air thick with contempt.

After a while, she found her voice again. "You're too tall," she gulped, throat dry. "You'll have to sit on the floor."

"Yeah," said Shizuo, inhaling again, his mouth bent in a frown. "The fucking flea put you up to this. What? He thinks I won't hit you because you're a girl?"

Nene lowered her head. She knew he'd never hit a girl but it still hurt. "He didn't put me up to this," she said.

"Bullshit," he snarled, snapping the cigarette. He dropped it to the ground and crushed it with his foot.

It signified the building rage; she'd watched him enough times to know it.

Still, she refused to leave. Nene raised her eyes and met his head on.

"I'm not doing this because he told me to," she stated more confidently. "So please, Heiwajima-senpai, sit down."

After a thoughtful pause, Shizuo grunted and childishly collapsed into a cross-legged position on the floor. Glad that he couldn't see the smile touching her lips, Nene went about wrapping the bandages carefully around his head. Really, next time he should leave the bandage wrapping to Shinra.

"If you're not one of his followers," Shizuo said, still suspicious of her intentions. "Why do you hang out with him?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "He's the worst human being I've ever met... but he doesn't have any friends... It must be lonely."

Shizuo was silent for a moment, contemplating her words. "He doesn't deserve any," he said in a calm, matter-of-fact manner.

The knot she tied was secure, enough to stop the bleeding.

"All done."

Unconsciously, she reached out her hand to him and he, much to her surprise, took it. The clasp was firm with heart melting warmth; his large calloused hands enfolded her smaller ones and the gravity that held her in place seemed non-existent.

Hauling Shizuo up took all her strength and she would have fallen back if it weren't for the tightening of his own grip. Then, just as quickly as it tightened, it went limp and fell away completely.

"Thanks," he muttered, averting his eyes to the ground.

"You're welcome," she said, her tender expression so unusual and yet, gladly welcomed by the muscles in her face. "But remember to get your hand checked out."

"I heal pretty quick."

"Oh."

The silence that followed chipped away at her sudden happiness and Nene was eager to depart before it was sucked away completely.

"I hope... I wish you a speedy recovery, Heiwajima-senpai" she said, bowing awkwardly.

Just as she turned to leave, the surly blonde giant spoke up. "Nono right? I'm shit with names, but I'm sure I've seen your face before...," he said, biting another cigarette out of its case and lighting it.

"Nene," she corrected, cocking her head back, still trying to restrain the overjoyed smile on her face.

"A while back you kneed the flea in the chest."

She nodded.

"Shizuo."

"Huh?"

"Call me Shizuo."

* * *

Izaya came across her at lunch at her usual table with her friends Isamu and Shin. She was laughing at an unheard joke while Shin looked downcast and Isamu, extremely amused. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last, for the moment Izaya walked up to the table both boys became emotionally blank. Nene differed in this respect. She lacked the fear Izaya so desperately needed to instill in her and merely stared at him curiously.

"Izaya-san," she muttered, surprised at his being in the canteen. He disliked their food. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find my favourite Nene-chan of course," he said sweetly. "After she abandoned me," he added with a touch of despair.

Nene snorted with her usual amusement at his antics and stood up. "See you tomorrow at lunch. Tell Kadota-senpai I said hi," she said her goodbyes cheerfully, but Izaya could tell she wasn't pleased.

When they were clear of the canteen and no one could hear them, Nene turned to him with wide, pitying eyes. Funny, how she knew which buttons to press.

"Didn't you get my text," she said gently.

Izaya's smile broadened. "What Kimi-san doesn't know can't hurt Kimi-san," he sang buoyantly.

At that, the younger girl dropped her pretense with a defeated sigh. "You should text me before coming to our table," she said, walking over to a wall and sliding down it. "Those guys don't like you at all."

Even though she patted the place beside her for him to sit down, he shook his head. Towering over her was one of his favourite positions after all; it made it easier to make her feel small, and even if just a little bit, more susceptible to his barbed wire words.

"Why is that Izaya-san?" asked Nene, looking up at him with rounded eyes, misleadingly innocent.

"Because I'm a bad man," he laughed melodically, if creepily. "You know that Nene-chan."

Her next question, Izaya did not expect but what most surprised him was the tone of voice with which she asked it.

"Was it you that set those gang members on Shizuo-san?"

_When was she on first name basis with Shizu-chan?_

She sounded...angry. It was subtle due to her restraint, but Izaya saw through it with ease. Her supposedly flawless poker face had long since been rendered obsolete by his analytical skills, just as her perceptive mind had developed immunity against his duplicity. An uneven trade, Izaya had thought. There was no point in smashing open the treasure chest only to find it empty.

Today, however, there was something inside.

Propping an arm on the wall, he leaned in, that unsettling smile on his face as he encroached inch by inch on her personal space.

"So what if I did?" he challenged with an airy laugh.

Nene slid back up on the wall, boldly meeting his proximity with a defiant scowl. Their noses had touched and Izaya saw then, in spite of her plainness, that the quiet rage in her smouldering charcoal eyes was eerily beautiful.

"You're a horrible person," whispered Nene. They were so close, the words could have come from his lips.

"But you don't think I'm so horrible when I play games with people you don't like," said Izaya, slick like tar. "But now that I hurt Shizu-chan, Nene-chan's so upset. You don't..._like_ Shizu-chan, do you?"

The snort grounded them back to reality, and Nene shoved Izaya back a good inch. "Like you didn't know that already."

"_What?_" exclaimed Izaya, feigning shock, "I had no idea?"

Nene threw him a tired look, as if to say 'cut it out', before sitting back on the floor.

"We should tell Shizu-chan," Izaya mused, assuming the spot she'd earlier offered and nudging her playfully with his shoulder, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Right away."

"If you were going to tell him you would have done it sooner," she stated bluntly.

Draping an arm around her, he let out a brief laugh.

"You're right; I would have," he said, "Nene-chan is all mine. Why would I want to give her away to that ogre?"

"Another piece in your elaborate game of chess," Nene drawled, slamming her head back against the wall. "We have an unhealthy relationship."

Izaya smiled but didn't say a word.

"I think I'm going to have to," she heaved a breath, "...extricate myself from it soon."

His silence urged her on.

"We're not friends, and we're not business partners. I have a feeling, since you're getting nowhere with the whole _breaking me,_ you must be frustrated, and to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of you _trying_ to break me.

"Plus, all my friends hate you and your followers... tolerate me, but one day I think, they'll try to kill me, acting either independently or on your orders. Your orders seem more likely though, haha." She elbowed his chest, as if he too should be laughing, but he rarely laughed with her, unless to mock her. "One of them told me they were going to try and kill Shizuo-san. I thought she was joking but she had this crazy look in her eyes... even if she was serious though I'd worry about her more than Shizuo-san."

Unconsciously, Izaya's hand slipped under the crook of her arm and hooked around her waist, the derisive smile unwavering as he listened to her. She didn't flinch away.

"Is Nene-chan jealous?" he taunted. _Shizuo-san?_

"Anyway Izaya-san, tell me, how's your day been?" she exclaimed suddenly, feeling a change in topic was necessary.

"Boring, boring, boring," he said with a disheartened sigh.

She elbowed him again. These past few months spent together were mostly comprised of her cajoling him into talking genuinely about his day. Maybe she _was_ trying to fix him, thought Izaya. He'd respond to these prompts in a mocking deadpan, giving her an emotionless play-by-play account of his day.

"I woke up at six thirty, yawning. I walked into my bathroom and took a _big_ shit. I then brushed my teeth and showered. At approximately seven o'clock, I threw Mairu's clay gun at her head and Okaa-san yelled at me. I ignored her, grabbed my book bag and left the house-"

"You didn't eat breakfast?"

"I forgot to eat breakfast," he explained, scowling at her, "Now, may I please continue with my story."

Nene smiled.

"As I was saying, I left the house..."

* * *

At home, the overpriced apartment she'd inhabited for the last three years, Nene crashed onto the purple beanbag, the only piece of furniture in the room she'd paid for, grabbed the remote and switched on the big screen.

"We need to get a couch that isn't leather," she yelled to Kimi who was ransacking the industrial size freezer for ice cream. "Leather makes my back sweat."

"Are you gonna pay for it?" Kimi snapped back.

Muttering under her breath, "Yeah, just let me sell the couches," Nene lazily flicked through channels.

Bored by how little there was on, the disaffected youth placed the remote delicately back onto the glass coffee table; the last scratch she'd etched into it had earned her the tongue-lashing of a century.

Being a freeloader was so demanding, she thought, staggering into the adjoining kitchen area and hopping onto the black marble counter.

"Talked to Shizuo today," she yawned.

Kimi's head shot up from the freezer. "What was that?" she questioned evenly.

"I said, I talked to Shizuo today," said Nene, trying to play it cool with a curbed smirk.

"You're fucking with me," scoffed Kimi, hands on hips as she assessed her oldest friend with beady black hawk eyes.

"Nope," she popped, her smirk morphing into a full-blown grin.

"Words... cannot express my relief Nene-chan," said Kimi, deciding to believe her.

In a softer, troubled voice, Nene explained what had happened, while Kimi listened patiently.

"Poor guy," she said when Nene had finished her tale, uncharacteristically sympathetic. "Having Orihara Izaya as your enemy must be hell."

"I don't think it's like having Izaya as his enemy since that sounds like it was something he couldn't control. It's more, Izaya has Shizuo as his enemy," Nene observed, swinging her legs against the kitchen unit.

"Speaking of which, how did Izaya take your new acquaintance with Shizuo? –Oi, stop doing that you'll break the doors."

"Huh? Oh, sorry... What do you mean about Izaya?"

"Well he hates Shizuo and you're... whatever the hell you are to him. He must have been pissed?"

Nene raised her eyebrows at the very idea of Izaya getting pissed. "Well, I didn't say anything to him about it, but even if I had he'd probably just file away that piece of information and use it later on if he thinks it's to his advantage. But pissed? No, Izaya may be demented, but he's strangely rational." _Most of the time._

"If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, whatever, I just thought maybe you two-"

"We're not like that!" Nene exclaimed, quick to defend. She definitely did not want information like that to get round to Shizuo.

"I know, I know... but-"

"But what?"

"Let me finish a sentence!" Kimi snapped, tapping her fingers against her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, you said he was a sociopath, but sociopaths don't make attachments."

"They don't."

"Then why's he always around?" groaned Kimi, slumping exaggeratedly to show her dejection.

"Because he wants to _break me_," Nene echoed, trying to sound spooky.

"But...he can't. He must know that by now, so why does he still hang around."

Nene shrugged. "Maybe he still thinks he can."

"Maybe he already is," Kimi said ominously, a shadow coming over her expression. "What if... everything he's done up until now has been a cleverly constructed ploy? And you're already on your way to being broken?"

Glancing tiredly at Kimi, Nene hopped off the counter and said goodnight before speeding off to her room.

"It could happen!" Kimi yelled after her.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I got bored and decided to update again. Getting bored during A level exam period... when I should be revising... yeee. Hark, hark, the cliches and the contrived plot devices. Once again, I enjoy writing this and hope you enjoy reading it.

-Oh, and if you guys have any tips on how to accurately depict these difficult characters please tell me in a review or drop me a pm :)


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: **Re-Posted because I read over the beginning part of the chapter and was horrified! :)**  
Thank you all for the supportive reviews, the favourites and the alerts. Was absolutely chuffed when I got a whopping eight reviews! Also thanks **taiga **for your kind review, who I couldn't respond to since it was anonymous, so am responding to here._

**Break You**

**Chapter 3**

The weekend came round and greeted Shizuo like that old uncle everyone hated; he'd walk in an hour late, eat all the food, pinch your cheeks and be on his merry way to hit another unsuspecting household. Quietly grumbling under his breath, the blonde rolled himself over and yanked the covers over his head.

"Shizu-chan?"

He twitched.

"It's time to wake up Shizu-chan," called his mother, opening the blinds. "Shopping day."

"_Nfmmfff_."

"Shizu-chan," his mother called sternly, shoving his shoulders. "Come on, it's time to get up."

"_I'llgetupinasecond_," he slurred huskily, smothering a glare into his pillow.

"I'm not going to ask you again."

Pushing off the bed, he stumbled passed his mother and into the adjoining bathroom, grumbling a barely coherent "Stop calling me that."

"But you've always been my Shizu-chan," she told him matter-of-factly.

The surly teenager closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, hanging his head. That was true, he'd always been her Shizu-chan and he wondered whether Izaya had raped the affectionate moniker on purpose or if it had just been a stroke of luck.

Unfortunately, these infuriating thoughts only served to disconnect the sink from the wall.

After many clumsy attempts at shoving the fixture back into place, the eighteen-year-old gave up, kicked it for good measure and went down to the kitchen where he found Kasuka, a figure of unaffected coolness reading a DIY magazine.

"The list is behind you," said Kasuka tonelessly, eyes unmoving.

Shizuo grabbed the notepaper off the counter and put it in his back pocket. Then taking a lengthy swig from a bottle of milk that Kasuka had most likely put out for him, the elder brother muttered a goodbye and exited the house.

The approaching winter weather had never fazed Shizuo, and though sure that Shinra had probably tried to explain it in the past, the blonde, true to his nature, didn't give a damn. Therefore, instead of lamenting over his thin shirt, he broodingly shoved his hands in his pockets and resigned himself to counting the clouds.

Mundane as it was, it helped cool his nerves, detach him, if briefly from the stares he received while passing by a convenience store, its splintered windows having been taped over as a result of a flying vending machine.

Some of the time, their fear was easy to ignore but for the rest, it transfused Shizuo, forever reminding him of the parasitic symbiont feeding off his uncontrollable temper. After Orihara Izaya that was what he hated most, that unwelcome houseguest who had, by association, turned him into a pariah.

Shizuo lit a cigarette to ease his bristling nerves as he turned onto a pedestrianised street where numerous local businesses had set up, absorbed by the city's natural throng of citizens.

Then he saw him.

In an instant, the cigarette was snapped in half, flung to the floor and crushed under his foot.

Mere meters away there stood a grinning young man rolling a switchblade round his fingers.

It was too early for this, though rationality as it was pushed further back in his mind, its voice muffled by resonant fury. His hand flew out before he was completely conscious of what he was doing and latched out onto a street lamp. With a loud groan, the metal crinkled in the palm of his hand as if it was no stronger than paper. A second later, it was uprooted, and those around him shrieked, retreating in a panicked frenzy. And in those far reaches of his mind there was an also an ache.

Yet it was nothing compared to the hatred.

"_Izayaaaaa_," Shizuo roared, effortlessly wielding the stop sign as he advanced on the slighter male, whose mere existence was enough to dye his vision red.

The flea, as Shizuo affectionately called him, leaned quite comfortably against the wall outside a pharmacy, oddly undisturbed by the threat that loomed in front of him.

"Shizu-chan," said Izaya, gleefully, "I didn't know you were going to be around here."

_Hell he didn't_, the rage screamed.

A maniacal grin cracked Shizuo's angry expression, and just as he was about to wave the streetlamp and smash it into Izaya's impassive face, the door of the pharmacy tinkled open.

A girl stepped out, jerking in surprise when she saw him.

_Okayama_... no, that was a place-

"Shizuo-san," the girl exclaimed, eyes widening as she took in the pole he was brandishing.

"Get. Out. Of the _way_!" he ground out, barely able to restrain himself as it was.

Except she didn't and the urge to smash Izaya's smug face in started to strangle his sanity. If she were paralysed with fear, he would have been able to understand it, that was an expression he'd become used to in his life. Only she wasn't.

"Put... put the stop sign down, I'll tell Izaya-san to leave," she said, stepping forwards cautiously.

"GET THE FUCK OUT THE WAY!"

This time she was paralysed and without meaning to, Shizuo dashed forward.

The next few moments were a blur in his mind. One hand zipped out, grabbed hold of her arm, and flung her behind him. The shock on Izaya's face was disregarded as Shizuo swung the stop sign round with inhuman speed.

Then it was over. Izaya had ducked out of the way just in time, sprinting off and vanishing round a corner. Shizuo was about to take up chase but made the mistake of glancing back to check if she was okay.

She wasn't.

Sprawled on the floor, the girl's eyes were rimmed with tears she'd yet to cry, staring aghast at the graze torn across the side of her arm, which had twisted unnaturally beneath her weight when she'd landed.

In a normal situation, one would have expected people to hover over the injured, while one called an ambulance and others fretted over her well-being. When Shizuo was involved, normality –human decency flew out the window, pushed by the instinctive fear akin to that of a wounded animal watching a vulture circle above. In the crowds' collective face, the urge to help warred with passive reluctance.

For one fleeting moment, his parasitic symbiont won precedence in his hatred but he repressed it in favour of doing what he thought was right.

Kneeling beside her, he found himself at loss for words. "Are-?"

"C-can you help me up?" she gulped, avoiding his gaze.

Shizuo hesitantly took the undamaged arm, put it over his shoulder and, steadying her hip with his hand, pulled her as gently as he could to her feet. She removed herself from the embrace, and the guilt now strangling his sanity intensified as she turned and walked away.

"You can still catch him," she said shakily, encouraged even, though still not sparing him a glance. "He usually goes to the overpass in the west district."

Shizuo moved to walk by her side, "...Should I call you an ambulance?"

"It's not that bad. I can walk to A&E from here," she assured him.

"Want me to walk with you?" muttered Shizuo. Though he didn't let it show, he dreaded her response.

The girl looked somewhat reluctant to accept the offer. "Okay."

As they walked together, her cradling her arm, him a picture of distress, everyone around them giving them a wide berth, Shizuo attempted to formulate the right apology. He tried not to think about Izaya, it would just make him mad, but then all he could think about was how she should have gotten out of the way and that still made him mad.

Why didn't she run? Like a sane person would have. There was no point in trying to reason with the monster after it had been let out of the cage.

"Were you trying to protect him?" he demanded, anger flaring.

She flinched and his guilt came back with a vengeance. "If I had been, I wouldn't have told you to run after him."

"You should have gotten out of the way," he muttered. He was no longer angry, at least not towards her. He just wished she'd gotten out of the way in time. "I didn't want to-"

"Yeah... I know."

The rest of the way was spent in silence and when they arrived at the A&E, a kind nurse, one Shizuo was familiar after spending such a copious amount of time there, offered to take the girl in quickly as a favour. She could tell by look on his face when he walked in that he needed a break.

Then he wordlessly took his leave.

* * *

Nene returned home, arm in sling with a bag full of strong painkillers, enough to replace the ones she'd dropped outside the pharmacy with interest. Funnily, she'd gone out that morning to buy painkillers for a sore leg acquired from attempting to bounce on the hard leather sofas and now her arm was sprained because she'd gotten between two of the most dangerous people at Raijin. She wasn't sure which was more foolish.

Kimi wasn't there when she got in. In fact, Nene felt like she'd been seeing less and less of her friend over the last few weeks and made a mental note to speak to the absentee about it when she got the chance. Throwing the carrier bag onto the kitchen counter she made her way into her bedroom where she looked forward to changing out of the tattered clothes. It would be a difficult task with no one to help her, but the doctor had said it would be okay if she were extremely careful.

She used her free hand to unbutton her jeans and slide it down, when a chilling voice interrupted her.

"_Oh_ I didn't think I would be getting a strip tease, how exciting" it laughingly came, "You should have told me earlier so I could have gotten my singles ready."

Doing a one eighty and yanking her jeans up, she was met with the sight of Izaya sitting comfortably on her spinny chair, having been concealed by its back when she first walked into the room. In turn, he was met with her injured arm held securely against her stomach and the smile on his face fell into indifference.

"What're you doing here?" she shouted vehemently.

Izaya raised his eyebrows. She'd never shouted at him before.

"Oooh_, scary_. But don't be like that, I stopped you _before_ you took off your clothes," he coaxed, grinning impishly.

A watery sheen was already growing over her eyes. "Just leave!" she snapped.

Izaya stood up and faced the door, giving the impression that he was going to listen to her, but of course, nothing with Izaya was ever that easy.

"Are you sad that you're nothing more than a human shield to me?" he asked, smirking, "or because Shizu-chan tossed you away like a piece of garbage."

Nene wrenched the landline off the wall, dialled a number and placed it to her ear.

"Who could she be calling I wonder? Who? Who? Who? Who?" he mocked letting out an obnoxious laugh.

"Hello! My name is Akiyama Nene and I'm at —– . Someone's broken into my house," she spluttered down the phone, even managing to pull off a convincing sob. "...Y-yes, yes, I've barricaded myself in my room and he's trying to break the door down. His name's Orihara Izaya and he's been stalking me for a while now and I'm so scared, please, come quickly."

For what seemed like eons, the two were locked in an intense staring match. Nene's charcoal eyes were determined, challenging him to make the next move, while Izaya's were cold and calculating.

Without a word, he turned and walked out.

When she was sure he'd gone, Nene put the phone back to her ear.

"Hey, hey Simon? Yeah, it's okay," she said, "Sorry about that, nothing's wrong don't worry... no I've taken care of it -sigh- Don't worr-... oh, no Simon you know I don't eat sushi—fine, you're right, Kimi-chan does love Russian sushi, put me down for an order-"

"Ahah! I knew it," sounded Izaya's chipper voice. His head poked back round the door way wearing a smile.

"Hurry Simon," she muttered into the receiver before slamming it back into place. A morbid part of her wished that Shizuo had taken her advice and gone to the overpass.

Izaya skipped in and jumped back onto the spinny chair, laughing as he went round and round.

"_Very_ convincing," said Izaya, clapping as his chair slowly came to a stop. "It would have been more effective if you had called the real police... but you would never do that Nene-chan."

The silent treatment; something Nene hadn't used since she was thirteen years old and Kimi had thrown her mobile out the window but willingly utilised today.

Today she didn't care if he'd won. Today he could see the fruits of his labour. What did it matter if he got to her anyway? He'd disappear and she'd pick up the pieces as any normal person would and move on with her life. She wasn't mindlessly devoted to him, nor was she reliant on his existence like the scores of followers he'd accumulated.

Nene knew she was worth a lot to him as an interesting human and the reason she was worth so much would be the reason he could never truly break her.

"Aww, are you ignoring me?" he laughed, watching as she grabbed her clothes and marched into the bathroom. "That's so predictable Nene-chan. You're just like every other _boring_ predictable human."

At his words, Nene stormed back out and grabbed him by his collar, yanking his smiling face up to hers. Her repulsed glare was shockingly explosive for such a usually easy-going person.

"Yes, I'm like every other human," she said, "because that's what I am, a human, but you...no, you _defected_ along the line somewhere. Is that why you love us so much Izaya? Because you so desperately want to be one of us. You lonely, sad excuse for a sociopath!"

She shoved him forcefully back into the chair and stalked back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

During her tirade, his features had softened considerably and looking at him then, you wouldn't think he had any malevolence in his heart. After all, Izaya wasn't an evil person, but nor could he be called a good one.

Getting up, he walked over to the bathroom door and started tapping his knuckles quietly against it. After what felt like an age of silence from her side, he stopped tapping and laid his hand flat against the door.

"If you come out I promise to play nice." His tone was soothing, sweet, but whether genuine or put on for the sake of getting his way, was indeterminable.

The door creaked open and Nene stood on the other side dressed in her pyjamas, her eyes bloodshot and pale; she looked all together, exhausted.

"Please just leave," said Nene, voice raspy. "Simon will be here soon and if you're not gone by then I'll ask him to beat you up."

"But I can't leave."

You could tell she was reluctant to ask why, but did so anyway. "Why?"

That moment, Izaya did something she never could have predicted.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.

Sure, he'd had his arm around her waist before. Sure, she'd fallen asleep on him on a park bench, only to wake up later with a strange homeless man staring at her. Sure, he'd playfully lean in too close as if he was about to kiss her, just to see how she'd react.

But he'd never handled her with such delicacy and contrary to popular belief he wasn't slimy and his blood didn't run cold; he was very, very warm and she was very, very tired.

Perhaps if Nene had done the intelligent thing that day and ended their association, things would have turned out differently, but who's to say? Would ducking round corners, switching directions and mapping out where not to go, all just to avoid him, be the proper way to live? In any case, she figured he wasn't the type to just let go of a person if they could still be of use to him. No, it was safe to say that the intention to end such a skewed relationship would have only ended up temporarily diverting the inevitable.

* * *

In the week following that ill-fated day, Nene couldn't see Shizuo anywhere and this made her anxious. Disregarding the fact that their timetables were such that it made sense they didn't cross paths, she found herself torn between hoping that his absence wasn't because of her and hoping it was. Childish, she realised, but as hard as she tried to fill the empty place Shizuo normally occupied with Izaya's now less daunting presence, she couldn't. It was like sloppily pinning a silver bottle cap moon onto your summer sky, because you'd ran out of yellow tissue paper halfway.

"That's an unkind comparison," remarked Izaya with a smirk, bending precariously over the roof's guardrail.

"But it's an honest one," drawled Nene cleverly. "Anyway, I'm going to go back in now."

"Aww, don't go Nene-chan, you haven't gotten properly acquainted yet." He gestured to the other six girls in their company, who promptly threw her sugary smiles

Nene's face remained unmoved. Without another word, she happily made her leave.

"Izaya-kun," spoke a girl perched just underneath him.

"Mm, Anzu-chan, what's wrong?" he said in all sweetness.

"Why do you hang out with her?" she asked, downcast.

The other girls collectively shifted their body language, completely focused on his response.

A sinister glint lit up his eyes, unnoticed by his loyal, almost boringly so, followers. "That's my business."

"But, she looks down at-"

"Please Anzu-chan," he said coolly, smile unwavering. "Don't be so serious, you know Nene-chan is my friend..."

"Yes," she said in a quiet voice.

"So?"

"She's our friend too."

Izaya let out a chuckle bordering on crazy as he ruffled the top of the girl's hair playfully. "Yep, so everyone be really nice to Nene-chan, or else I'll get very sad that you can't get along."

And none of them wanted to make him sad. He'd helped them in their darkest moments, always appearing when they needed his kind, supportive words most. They felt indebted to such a selfless person, so being nice to someone they all strongly disliked would be a small sacrifice to pay.

At least until he got bored of her.

While this disquieting exchange was going on, Nene was hopping down the stairs leading out of the roof, trying her hardest to pretend like the flesh puppets were mere figments of her imagination when the thud of footsteps shook the ground beneath her. Turning the next corner quickly in her curiosity, she came face to face with Shizuo.

They froze.

"Hi," said Nene, hovering between the last step and the connecting landing.

Shizuo nodded. "Yo," was his automatic response, before his eyes drifted to her sling.

"It's okay," she said hastily, watching the guilt chew a scowl into his mouth.

"...Ah—my bad, but I uh, forgot your name?"

Mortified, even though he seemed seriously apologetic, her cheeks flushed crimson. "Akiyama Nene."

He was silent.

"Were you running up there to beat up Izaya?" asked Nene, desperate to keep the conversation going.

Shizuo's scowl deepened.

"There's no point, he's surrounded by a group of girls who would gladly throw themselves in front of your rampage-" His eyebrow twitched "-sorry, poor choice of words. But yes, there is no point in going up there," said Nene, slipping passed him. "Plus you'll have nothing to throw at him."

A laugh; short but sincere.

"I'd kill him with my bare hands," Shizuo told her, even though he'd already started following her down the stairs.

"Yeah, but the paramedics wouldn't appreciate taking his body down all the narrow stairways."

He grunted, perhaps in agreement.

"How is it anyway?" he asked, hesitantly broaching the subject.

Nene threw him a backwards glance and her thoughts went into overdrive. Was he actively searching out Izaya because of what happened over the weekend? Did Heiwajima Shizuo care about her well-being? She knew it was all wishful thinking and especially silly when the man hadn't even remembered her name. Even so, her emotions showed in the increased tempo and fluctuating pitches of her response.

"What? _Oh_ my arm's fine doctor said it should heal within the next month or so but I need to go in for check-ups just to make sure."

They lapsed into another awkward silence until they finally emerged from the rooftop access and into the school hallways.

"Sorry."

The apology was extremely humbling, Nene understood, not because he was a rude person, but because of how difficult it was admitting his regrets aloud. In the end, Shizuo must have regretted a lot of the things that went on in his life but if he went around saying sorry all the time, he would be renouncing his very existence, and that would be a very sad life to live.

It meant a great deal that he was humbling himself just for her sake.

"You're forgiven, besides if you hadn't pulled me out of the way I might be a lot worse off," babbled Nene.

Shizuo twitched at the thought.

"Are you going to stand there until Izaya comes down?" she asked.

"That's the plan."

"I'll see you around then," she said, the smile she couldn't resist around him making its way onto her lips.

"One thing," said Shizuo.

For some reason, her pulse accelerated at the statement.

"You're not one of _Izaya's_ followers," Shizuo said, grinding out the name. He reached into his blazer for his cigarettes, thoughts of the flea urging his habit.

"Nope."

"Then, I just don't get why you hang out with him," he grumbled in an almost inaudible voice. "Pisses me off."

Nene's insides fluttered. "What?"

"It just...fucking pisses me off," he snarled, inhaling sharply. "Everything he does pisses me off."

Maybe it would be better if she didn't leave him alone, thought Nene, watching carefully as the veins in his forehead throbbed.

"I'm really hungry," she declared.

He eyed her warily.

"We should go get food."

"We?"

"Yeah, um, I got dragged up there before I could eat."

"I'm waiting for the flea to come down," he reminded her curtly.

"Please," she entreated, tugging on his arm. "Leave it for another day."

Shizuo covered his face with his hand, grumbling something under his breath and then kicked off the wall. "Fine."

"Really?"

"...You want me to change my mind?" he retorted darkly.

"No." Her hand she realised was still on his arm and she retracted it quickly.

As they walked into the canteen, Shizuo crushed the cigarette on the wall and threw it away. "This is the third time you've gotten in my way," he said.

She had to lower her head to hide a blush when he took her tray and gestured for her to put whatever she wanted on it.

"The first time was an accident," she muttered, as she stacked dessert after dessert onto her plate. "I didn't even know Izaya back then."

"Second time?"

Her blush intensified. "When I saw you, I realised he'd planned the whole thing."

Shizuo cocked an eyebrow, interest piqued.

"I told Iz- him I needed to buy painkillers and he got really excited about this one pharmacy in —– so I let him drag me there. I didn't realise it at the time, but he must have done it because he knew you would be there," she admitted guiltily, "I didn't want him to get his way and I didn't want you to get hurt either so I tried to talk you out of it."

The boy beside her looked uncomfortably away. "Sure you can pay for all that?" he muttered, reaching his free hand inside his blazer.

Before he could take out any guilt money, Nene drew out more than enough to pay for the plethora of desserts and handed it to the lunch lady.

"It's on Kimi-chan," she said, leading him over to one of the many empty tables now that lunch was nearly over.

He snorted disapprovingly, "Toyoshima?"

Nene grabbed a slice of sponge cake and slid it over to his side. Though surprised, Shizuo mumbled 'thanks' while rubbing the back of his head and accepted the treat.

"Yeah, she basically –CHOMP- pays for my existence," said Nene, one-quarter of the chocolate cake disappearing into her mouth.

To most people, revealing your disgusting habits to the person you liked was not a good idea, but to Nene, who had never had a crush before, it was harmless. It helped that he'd already maimed her, forgotten her name and could not therefore, in good conscience judge her.

"I don't like her," he said curtly.

"Yeah, she feels the same way," said Nene, wistfully adding, "I think it's because you're so similar."

Shizuo looked truly offended and the throbbing vein reappeared. "What?"

"You both have really bad tempers," she said, the words spewing out as her concentration was fixed on her dessert. "They get out of control quickly and you both get into fights a lot. I mean you fight physically and she fights verbally, but it's all the same."

Shizuo had to concede to that, but he wasn't down for the count. "She's arrogant."

The childishness that was his defence, spoken in such stern voice brought her attention away from the cakes. Without meaning to, she covered half her face in her hands to smother the snort, but the twinkle in her eyes was enough to give her away.

After a shade of pink settled over Shizuo's cheeks, he hunched over his plate, quietly picking at the cake with his fork. Much to Nene's dismay, the final ten minutes of lunch ended up being spent in awkward, mutual reticence.

**_An hour later, Kimi and Nene's apartment. _**

The landline had been ringing for a good two minutes before it went to answering machine.

"_Kimi, it's your father, if you're there pick up the phone..._

"_Kimi... _

"_Well I doubt you'll call me back so listen carefully. I'm cutting off your allowance and don't try to argue with me, you know why I'm doing this," _the man's voice, which had been flat and callous up until this point, hitched. _"Do you _realise_ how your actions reflect on me? Are you so conceited that you think you are above the consequences? You can't go through life acting as though everything will work out in the end Kimi-"_

The voice broke off, returning to its previous evenness. _"Never mind, there's no point wasting words on you. I suggest you start looking for a new apartment and a job... a respectable one, as soon as possible. Nene's mother will continue to send her—Beep, beep, beep."_

The message had reached its time limit and disconnected before he could impart any affectionate sentiments. In reality, it would have needed an additional four years for Toyoshima Hisoka to recognise and engage that place in his heart.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Oooh the plot thickens with obscure references to random characters! Genius, genius I tell you... lol**. **Ah I'm not overly happy with this chapter, but let's just call this a filler for better things to come?**  
**

Really I should be revising for my Psych exam instead of writing Fan Fiction (and baking cakes), but ahh, I am too fond of this story. It also _just_ came to my attention that I missed Shizuo's brithday...what a fail fangirl I am... So here is the third chapter (Happy Belated Birthday Shizuo!). I reckon the fourth will come round in a week or so after my exams are _finally_ over. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter.

-By the way, this site tends to mess up my structure and words a little, so if there are any mistakes I apologise and will try to remedy them as soon as possible. Until next time :)


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: You guys have no idea how much I appreciate your favourites, alerts and reviews so my most gracious thanks to you all! I'm sorry the chapter is extremely late, but someone in my family has taken ill and so I've been preoccupied. I also thank **annoynymouuuusss **for their review here because, as their name suggests, they are anonymous!_ _I hope you'll bear with me through the next few updates, because they will be slow and possibly less proof read. I'll do my best :P  
_

**Break You**

**Chapter 4  
**

The previous night, defiance had whispered sweet nothings in Kimi's ear. It had led her and coerced her, giving her a much-needed excuse to be all those things she didn't want to be in the first place. Of course, she had the cloak of mindless teenage rebellion on her side, faithfully justifying her idiocy.

All the familiar objects in her apartment looked like paint splotches on an art pallet and noises she'd never paid attention to were bouncing off the walls of her skull. Disorientated, murky vision and a heightened sense of hearing was a combination not to be envied.

Unsurprisingly, Kimi could barely remember what had happened, but she could probably guess. She went to a club, drank more alcohol than her body could handle, and danced suggestively before, judging by her bruised knuckles, punching a pervert. Then the evening came to a close with her getting off with some guy who was too old for her although, she presumed he was a gentleman since that morning she'd awoken in her own apartment, had all her clothes on and nether regions intact.

A whisper from her subconscious tried to warn her that she was spiralling out of control. That next time, she wouldn't be so lucky. That next time she'd wake up tied up in the back of some psychos van. That her little addiction to the twilight buzz would unravel her heiress earned lifestyle.

In fact, that was already starting to happen. Her father had cut off her allowance and her lifestyle was about to undergo a serious make under. Without her pedestal, she would be ordinary and though it was doubtful whether her arrogant personality would change, everything else would.

A repetitive clap-clap against the wooden floors took precedence over all the other noises. It reminded her of a haughty monarch flourishingly claiming back his land after years of isolation.

"You look like you had a rough night," commented the unlikely ruler, leaning on the breakfast island.

Kimi didn't have the energy to come up with a snappy comeback and resigned herself to half-hearted grunts.

"Do... you have a hangover Kimi-chan?" asked Nene, sounding alarmed.

Grabbing a glass of water in which she'd had the foresight to dissolve a few tablets of Alka-seltzer, Kimi threw her head back and chugged it down. A bitter scowl appeared on her face as she tasted the gag-inducing residue at the bottom of the glass.

"You've been going out a lot at night these days," broached Nene. "I haven't seen much of you."

"Probably because you're too tied up in Orihara... Orihara... Orihara..." breathed the girl, cupping the glass in front of her in the palm of her hands and staring at it.

"Are you upset?"

"Don't be an idiot," said Kimi. "I've just had a lot of things going on."

Nodding, Nene slid into the seat Next to Kimi.

"I probably should have told you this earlier... but we have to move out-"

"I heard the message."

"Sure I deleted it," Kimi muttered more to herself.

"The messages get saved to my mobile too, in case you delete an important one of mine," Nene explained. They both knew Kimi wasn't responsible when it came to small details like these.

"Pffft."

"Why is your dad so mad at you?" questioned Nene.

"I don't know," snapped Kimi, the Alka-seltzer helping to regain her temperament.

"Okay," said Nene, nodding. There was no point arguing with Kimi when she was set to blow, "Well I've applied to a few places, mostly for cleaning and admin."

Kimi smiled reluctantly, neglecting to mention that she had yet to look at any job listings, let alone apply to anything. "Sounds good. Guess we'll have to start packing our things into boxes."

"I'll ask Izumi-san if she has any."

The dark haired girl bounced off the high chair, wobbled a little and walked out.

"Get someone to help you with those boxes!" Kimi yelled after her, immediately regretting it when a sharp pain split her head in two.

* * *

After who knows how long, Izaya had finally received permission to enter Nene's room. It was only to help her pack away her things; nevertheless, it was still a step up from being threatened with the police. When he considered how quickly other girls had consented to much more, he found himself staring at the back of Nene's head curiously as she ushered him inside.

The walls, he'd noted on his last unsolicited visit, were covered from top to bottom with posters and memorabilia from a past he'd yet to learn of. This sentimental side of Nene had come as a surprise to him, another one of her many unpredictable traits that clashed horribly with the persona she displayed on a daily basis. It was as though all of life's clutter had found a home in the comparatively small space of her bedroom, that everything she ever was followed her around like the tin cans strung on at the back of a 'Just Married' car.

Hanging off the corner of her desk was a broken, unpolished bracelet, stuck in place by a thumbtack, and as Izaya walked passed, he quickly yanked it out and slid it into his pocket without her noticing.

"Want something to eat—drink?" she asked offhand, picking up a pile of clothes off her bed and chucking them into a box.

He waved her off, eyes flitting around the room in search of more interesting artefacts. They finally landed on a novelty frame with a picture of a younger Nene and a woman he recognised but couldn't place, inside it. They were both grinning widely, cheeks pressed together and both looking enormously happy.

"Who's that Nene-chan?" he asked, bending over to peer closer at it.

"My mum," she said.

"Where is she now?"

There was an odd sense of victory emanating from him, which Nene chose to ignore.

"Italy somewhere, probably France now."

"You don't know?" he said, clearly faking his disbelief.

Nene snorted, but didn't comment on his insincerity. "We got into a fight a long time ago," she explained evenly.

"Why?"

His kōhai fell face first into her bed and muttered, "Don't really want to talk about it."

Izaya lay down on his side and inappropriately rubbed her shoulder. She shrugged him off and he snickered, clearly amused.

"Tell me. Tell me. Tell me," he insisted childishly, poking her shoulder. "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me-"

"Shut up," she groaned, her uninjured arm shooting out to grapple his throat. He reflexively grabbed her wrist.

"Tell me."

Face still immersed in cotton sheets she told her story.

"She wanted to move to England or France or whatever for this new position and I didn't want to... so I ran away from home. When she found me, she didn't speak to me for a like month and then she just sent me to stay with Kimi and her family and I've been with them since... we still e-mail each other though."

Izaya bit his grinning lips, and suppressed another snicker.

"What's so funny?"

"Nene-chan throwing a hissy-fit."

"I didn't throw a hissy-fit," she grumbled, and would have crossed her arms beneath her were it not for the sling.

"If that's what you say," he sang, playing with the fingers of the hand he'd caught mid attack. "You have small hands," he observed, rolling her hand into a fist and cracking them.

"Ow!"

Izaya's smile turned wry. "It didn't hurt."

"But what if it did?"

"I'd kiss them better."

His lips, suddenly pressed behind her ear, made her swiftly sit up. Izaya chuckled and followed suit.

"This bed's so comfy," remarked Izaya gleefully as he started bouncing on it. It was as if he thought trading the creepy with the ridiculous could absolve his earlier antics.

"I want to meet your family."

Izaya stopped bouncing and stared at her blankly.

"All you ever say about them is how much you _loathe _your sisters, I want to meet them and I want to meet the people who created you."

His lowered eyelids indicated how oddly tedious he thought the conversation was.

"Not everyone gets what they want," he said simply.

"I'll tell you something interesting about Anzu_-chan_," she said, a small triumphant grin on her face.

"If it's that she's sleeping with most of the senior boys... I already know," he said, smirking sinisterly.

Nene's stomach clenched.

"That wasn't what I was going to say," she said quietly. What she'd been about to tell him was that she thought first year Anzu had a boyfriend. "Did you...?"

Izaya sighed contentedly, smiling still as he watched the horror unfold in her eyes. "Did I what?"

Nene was about to jump off the bed and make an excuse to go to the toilet when his hand latched onto her wrist. She prayed he couldn't see the dip going along her throat as she swallowed. It made her feel so strange, to think that he'd... with a fifteen year old.

The words tumbled out of her mouth. "Did you have sex with her?"

"If I did?"

But she was silent.

Bursting out laughing, Izaya fell back onto her bed, shaking like ants had quite literally jumped into his pants.

"So you didn't?" she asked in a deadpan, watching his hysteria, unimpressed. "You didn't."

"Why-" snicker "-you should _know_ I'm saving my precious flower for you."

His crazed laughter only intensified at the mortified blush that sprang to her cheeks.

"You think you're derailing me but-."

"We have to pack up all your junk in these shitty boxes still and you have so much junk its unreal. There's definitely no time for idle chitchat about love-making... today," he added sinisterly, leaning towards her.

"I want to meet your family Izaya."

His eyes turned to slits. "I don't want you to meet my family."

"Why?"

Sighing heavily, he attempted to pool her into his lap. Her hands batting his grabby fingers made this extremely difficult and he settled for repeatedly poking her shoulders.

"Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine..." "Stop it!" "...Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine..."

* * *

Shinra finished the suture in record time, chucking the bloodied needle and thread into a metal pan and wiping his hands off on a towel.

"Hey Shizuo-kun," he said as he packed away the other medical supplies. "This is the third time this week you've been stabbed in a vital spot. I'm curious... how is it that you're still alive?"

Shizuo buttoned up his bloodied shirt.

"Because I'm not gonna die before I kill those bastards," he flatly responded.

"You didn't kill them? Shame on yo- ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Shinra's arm had been twisted behind his back by a deceptively calm looking Shizuo. "My humblest apologies! Please let go of my arm, you're going to break it off!"

Feeling merciful after the pseudo doctor had patched him up, Shizuo released him.

"Ah, that's better," said the bespectacled young man, smiling, relieved, as he rubbed the forming purple bruise.

Shizuo grunted, shrugged on his jacket and made for the door. On top of just having been assaulted by a random gang, spending half an hour in Shinra's presence was enough to drive him into a rage and he was in dire need of a cigarette.

"Leaving so soon," exclaimed Shinra, rushing to follow one of his only friends to the front of the apartment. "You know that lesion of yours could become infected, maybe you should let me take a blood sample-"

"Shut up."

"Ahh, come on, I've been so lonely lately... My precious Celty has gone on a trip and she won't be back for a while and even though my heart breaks thinking about her and all those men she might meet and fall in love with on the way, I promised myself I'd make the best of it and turn myself into a man she'll surely-"

Though Shizuo's back was facing him, waiting for the elevator, Shinra could sense the searing glare and decidedly tried to change tactics.

"But of course, Shizuo-kun understands romance these days and I don't have to explain that to-"

"What?" said Shizuo, cocking his head back, eyes narrowed at his friend.

"Hmm?"

"What about romance?"

"You know, Akiyama-san."

"...That Nene girl," he muttered to himself. "What about her?"

The lift arrived with a chime and the doors whooshed open. Walking in, Shizuo found himself followed closely by Shinra, even though he'd made it clear that he'd been leaving to get away from the pestering little itch.

"I mean I was surprised that anyone would agree to go out with you, no offense but-"

"The hell," barked Shizuo, realisation dawning over his features. "She's not my girlfriend."

Shinra's eyes widened fearfully, and he backed up against the elevator wall. In such narrow space, Shizuo's punches would not miss and judging by the reddening complexion and animated vein on his forehead, those punches would be aimed at Shinra.

"A-ah, my mistake, my mistake, forgive me," stammered the pseudo doctor, bowing repeatedly.

However, Shizuo wasn't interested in his apologies. "Why'd you think she was?" he asked, scowling at the prostrated being before him.

"Haha, I saw you two at lunch together and I was going to walk over and say hi when I saw you blushing and deduced that-"

"Understood."

"Huh?"

"_Understood_," growled the ill-tempered man.

After the word _blushing _came up, Shizuo was eager to put a stop to the conversation. It wasn't every day his moronic friend linked him to a moronic behaviour that, taken out of context, made him appear equally moronic.

However, thinking back on it, he remembered that silent twinkle in her eyes and realised that the blush had resulted from embarrassment.

"It makes sense now anyway. I could never see you dating someone who was so close to Izaya," Shinra rambled on. "You know, maybe it's those two that are dating. When I mentioned the rumours to them, Akiyama-san got so angry that she stormed off. It looked like a real lover's quarrel-"

"They're not dating," Shizuo interjected firmly, fingers twitching.

"How do you know?"

Shizuo's mouth opened to retort, but his brain didn't compute. How did he know? Though she'd made it quite clear that she wasn't one of his many mindless fan girls and that she thought Izaya was the scum of the earth, there was still a chance, if small that they were a couple. Plus, Shizuo wasn't aware of how vehemently she'd denied the rumours in the past because he never indulged in gossip. Maybe this was a blessing, because even if he'd used that as a reason, Shinra, with his disturbing, runaway imagination would have manipulated it to make sense.

She was shy because she was in love.

They wanted to keep it a secret because her parents were strict.

They were actually cousins...

"Whatever," muttered Shizuo. It was a tedious conjecture to dwell upon in any case. If she was stupid enough to fall for the bubonic plague, it wasn't his problem.

That's when something he would have most definitely deemed not his problem, came stumbling and screaming out of an alleyway and landed smack bang against his chest.

* * *

A train ride later and a short walk into a suburban residential area found a grinning Nene and a grumpy Izaya outside his house. Packing could wait it seemed.

Taking a step forward, Nene was about to ring the doorbell when Izaya's voice arrested her.

"What are you doing?"

"Ringing the doorbell..."

Izaya swept in front of her, jingling a keychain in his hand with a patronising smirk thrown over his shoulder.

The next few minutes played like Nene had zapped into a parallel universe, where Izaya's residence was the total reverse of what she'd imagined. Warmth, the kind that didn't stifle but blanketed snugly, emanated from the blossom white walls of the hallway. Nothing seemed overly neat, yet nothing seemed chaotic either. There were coats thrown over the banister of a wide stairway and smack bang in the middle of an intersection where all the downstairs rooms converged, was a glass table supporting bills and a vase full of orchids.

Normal.

"You live here... "

Nene viewed the warm colours and quaint scene with bewilderment. She half expected a drunken man to come staggering out from one of the rooms and take a swing at Izaya so the world would make sense again.

"You look surprised," said Izaya airily as he took her coat and his and flung them over the banister.

He led her round the glass table and into the dining room where his family had sat down for a late breakfast.

"I'm home," he announced.

Four heads poked up to scrutinise the duo standing in the aperture. One stood with his hands in his pockets, a picture of nonchalance, the other had visibly flinched when all eyes zoned in on her and bowed suddenly as if remembering herself.

"Sorry to interrupt," Nene stammered, annoyed that it would only do to put a smile on Izaya's face.

"Are you Iza-nii's girlfriend?" said who she could only assume was one of his sisters.

While Nene's mouth fell open, Izaya finally decided to swoop in and save the day. In his own twisted fashion of course. He threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her against his chest.

"Yep," he exclaimed. His unsettling grin, it seemed, would not be hidden even in front of the people that had unwittingly conceived him.

His mother leapt off her seat, a dimpled smile on her face. "Ohayou, ohayou," she exclaimed. "I didn't realise. I'm Iza-chan's-"

Snort.

"-mother, please call me Kyouko and this is Iza-chan's father Shirou."

Shirou nodded at Nene, gaze flitting curiously between the two teenagers as if he sensed something afoot.

Nene bowed again, "Nice to meet you Kyouko-san, Shirou-san, but I'm not-."

"-Okaa-san," exclaimed one of the sisters, so loudly that Nene's sentence, if not cut through, was rendered completely incomprehensible. "Aren't you going to introduce us to Iza-nii's girlfriend! We want to be introduced to Iza-nii's girlfriend."

"Yeah, yeah," said Izaya. Nene detected the disinterest mixed with subtle annoyance. "The loud one is Mairu the quiet one is Kururi."

The loud one, Mairu shot her brother a deceptively sweet smile before turning back to Nene, "What's your name Iza-nii's girlfriend?"

For some reason she found herself so startled by the sharp gaze that reminded her so much of Izaya that she... forgot.

"Akiyama Nene," Izaya said offhandedly, stabbing her with one of his long fingers and bringing her back to reality.

"Sit down and have breakfast with us Nene-chan?" offered the mother, clearly excited that her son had finally made a friend.

Without waiting for a response, Kyouko placed a hand on Nene's back and ushered her into a chair. Izaya, rolling his eyes, followed and took the seat beside her, which unfortunately meant he was surrounded by Kururi and Mairu.

"Iza-nii, Iza-nii, how come you didn't tell us you had a girlfriend," demanded Mairu, while Kururi silently tugged the hem of his shirt.

The one in question calmly detached Kururi's fingers from him.

Worried that Izaya would respond cruelly to the eight year olds, Nene interceded. "Um, Izaya-kun-" _Izaya-kun? _"-wanted to introduce me to you personally before he said anything."

This seemed to placate the twins for the time being.

"What would you like to eat?" asked Kyouko, sweeping her hand above the dishes. "There's cereal, porridge, miso soup-"

"I think Nene-chan would like the apple pie," Izaya said sweetly, leaning in and tenderly kissing Nene's head, "Mmm ba-by-_cakes_?"

It took all of her willpower not to laugh at this.

Nene had decided against telling his family she was not his girlfriend, because the truth was that she hadn't the heart to. The moment there was even a chance that Izaya had brought home a friend, no a _lover_, their faces had lit up like twenty year hostages discovering an escape tunnel. She figured one little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Here's a slice," smiled Kyouko, placing one in her plate.

Timidly saying her thanks, Nene was about to dig in when Izaya batted her hand away, stuck his own fork in and tried spoon-feeding her. "Open wide," he said, a sadistic glint in his eyes.

"I can feed myself Izaya-kun," she said, scowling as she reached over to grab the spoon from his hand.

The spoon slid into Izaya's mouth and he smilingly swallowed the morsel whole. She inwardly slumped.

"You have to let me feed you or else I'm gonna eat all of it," he sang playfully.

The minute they were alone she was going to hit him.

_SMACK_.

Izaya had caught her wrist in and clutched her in place, smirking. "Why, hello there... what's with that face?"

"That was humiliating," she whispered sharply, trying to yank her hand away. "You deserve to be slapped."

He tittered. "I'll only let you go if you promise not to swing at me again."

Nene looked torn.

"You look so vulnerable with your arm in a sling... your only working hand in my grasp," he whispered smoothly. "Ahaha, we could make this a fun little game, mm ba-by-cakes?"

"Okay I promise," she yielded, arm wilting.

Instead of letting go, the victor swung her working arm side to side, humming softly. "Izaya." Then dropped it.

"What happened to Izaya-_kun_," he mewled before laughingly belly flopping onto his bed.

Nene moved over to the expansive bookcase, the only area of his room that wasn't meticulously bare and fingered the spines curiously. "You've got a lot of books."

Pulling out a bulky volume, she leafed through it curiously. "This looks interesting," she commented. "The World Guide to Mythology."

"_Oh_? Is Nene-chan interested in mythology?" he asked apathetically as he turned and lay, eyes-closed on his back.

"I think it's weird," she admitted, "It would be interesting if it made more logical sense."

"Does everything have to make sense?"

"Maybe not... but it makes everything easier when it does."

A smirk flitted lazily over Izaya's features. "You're one of those people who have to make sense of everything."

Nene replaced the book, walked over and knelt on his bed.

"I don't have to," she defended, a touch of offense in her tone.

"No, no don't get me wrong Nene, it's the one of the few things I like about you," he lied.

"Would you like to know what I like about you?" she said, brow knitted together in thought.

At that, Izaya's eyes fluttered open. He expelled a twinkling laugh. "What's that?"

"How easy it is to talk to you," she said, crossing her legs underneath her. "You make me laugh... You don't think I'm too quiet and you don't get mad at me if I'm not making eye contact with you twenty-four-seven... you're interesting... you think I'm interesting..."

"Who said I thought you were interesting?" said Izaya, frowning.

Nene's smile turned tender, much to the surprise of her face. "I never thought I would be but... I'm glad we're friends," she revealed.

There was a tumbleweed moment in which Izaya stared intensely at her, as if determining his preferred course of action, vivisection or mutilation. The smile on Nene's face faded as it occurred to her that she'd opened up a can of worms.

"What?" she asked, unnerved by his impassive expression. It reminded her of one of their first meetings, when they were walking down the street and one attentive look from him would plunge them into stifling isolation.

"I'm just thinking."

That was never good, thought Nene, bristling.

She got that same irksome sense from him that she had in the past, whenever he'd try to maliciously break down her entire being and the last time he'd tested her, Nene had blown up something fierce. Since then she'd felt as though an unspoken rule had come into existent between them; that he never venture down that path again.

The day thus far had been... nice, pleasant even and she didn't want to soil her epiphany of friendship with the dark cloud of his former mission to break her.

Could she derail him before the familiar wicked smirk curled itself on his lips?

"Hmmm... I'm glad we're friends too," Izaya said at last, weightlessly as if the topic was barely of interest to him.

Nene's brow furrowed. "You are...?"

"Mmmhmm," he hummed.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Izaya raised an eyebrow, smiling playfully at her. "Of course I am!" he exclaimed gleefully.

A sharp ringing cut Nene's offended retort straight through. Picking up her phone, curious to see an unknown number blinking across the screen, she gently pressed the call button.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry everyone but today I have not much to say for this chapter except woop, more character development and some awkward cliff hanger? I haven't finished responding to reviews but I'll do so immediately after I've published this. All I can say is that I hope you enjoyed reading this.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I am very **sorry** that this has been such a late update (but at least it's very long!) Thank you for all the lovely reviews and many favourites and alerts encouraging me to update, I needed them and thank you to the anonymous** random**__ for their review._  
**Minor Changes Made:**  
-Their two-storey apartment is now a one storey apartment  
-Kimi's father has already cut her off.  


**Break You  
**

**Chapter Five**

"Think calm thoughts," Nene advised nervously, pacing around the curtain.

_Crack_

Nene flinched at the sound; however, when the doctor drew back the curtain to reveal her friend sitting on the edge of the bed, mostly unaffected by the nose realignment, she allowed herself a mental sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, I feel fine," said Kimi, absentmindedly gliding her fingers above her bruised face.

Nene shot Kimi a worried look regardless and hopped onto the bed next to her.

Enclosed by the curtain the doctor had kindly drawn back around them, they sat in the most uncomfortable silence they'd known since the commencement of their friendship.

In the short time that had elapsed since the confrontation, the bruises on Kimi's face had darkened considerably, especially under her eyes and on the bridge of her nose, which was partially concealed by plasters to keep it aligned while it healed. At first, she'd held an icepack to her head where a chunk of hair had been ripped out, but Nene had forcefully taken that over. Luckily, Kimi's split lip had taken the least damage and had stopped bleeding, scabbing over relatively quickly. It was all in all, it was a heartbreaking sight, made worse by Kimi's disquieting blank stare.

"What happened?" asked Nene, her eyes fixed on the wall as she reluctantly attempted to broach the silence.

To that, Kimi chose not to answer and another long bout of silence resumed.

_Zzzzzzzzz_

Throwing her friend an apologetic glance, Nene slipped out of the hospital ward and took out her phone. A message from Izaya appeared on the screen and at first, she was hesitant to read it, considering where she felt her attention ought to lie at that moment, but curiosity won out.

_On your left ;)_

Nene saw her sociopath of a friend on her left as instructed, leaning against one of the vending machines in the waiting area and wearing a dim smirk as he regarded her. It didn't faze her as much as it should have; she wasn't expecting him to show concern for someone that he barely feigned to care about at the best of times.

As she wandered over to him, the pull of friendship weakening as she grew further from Kimi, there was a pang in her conscience.

"Have the police talked to her yet?" he asked. It seemed he wasn't bothered by pleasantries.

Nene nodded.

"Any suspects?"

"That one guy, but he's still comatose," she said.

Nene, whose mind was stretched too thin to be her naturally observant self, didn't notice Izaya's lips twitched into a look of hatred that disappeared almost as quickly as it marred his face. An unsettling thought had surfaced in his mind and he was bristling with questions.

"I wonder who did it," he mused aloud, voice even almost to a fault.

"They fled the scene after they called the police and Kimi refuses to say anything. She's trying to protect them," said Nene wearily. Her gaze was directed, almost trance-like, at the floor. "That's fine and I understand..."

"But...?" was Izaya's robotic response, when the reality was that he didn't care about the "_but"_. He was too busy trying to unravel this fresh new mystery.

Nene looked up, expecting some sort of horrible remark from Izaya. Except, he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were focussed along the empty corridor, distracted, detached, and with a level of concentration that brought her to a startling discovery. In that brief moment, Nene glimpsed a mask so layered that she supposed Izaya himself had forgotten about its existence. She understood the very real and frightening possibility that every prior, penetrative stare he'd fixed her with had simply been a card trick, differing enormously from the great magician's feat that was the look in his eyes then. It did not dissolve the world around them, only Nene, plunging her into the reality of her isolation.

"Izaya?" said Nene, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

The man in question snapped his attention back to her, a smile reserved for his pawns unconsciously spreading across his lips.

"Sorry Nene-chan, but I think it's time for me to leave," he said in a tone echoing his smile. Nene's head started to spin. "It's been such a distressful day... I guess I'm zoning out. You should get back to your friend; she'll need all of the support she can get."

As Izaya spun round and walked off, the perpetual skip in his step subdued to a bob, he unknowingly severed the delusional umbilical cord between Nene and a world that she was despairingly beginning to realise she was oblivious to.

In spite of this, Nene quickly turned her thoughts to a more practical diversion. She figured Kimi would appreciate her continued absence for a few more minutes and in that time, she could try to make sense of this situation. Taking out her phone again, she dialled the number of the only person left in the city that she felt she could count on to help her do just that.

"Hey-" she said, voice shaky with compressed tension. "Yeah, that's not why I'm calling...

"Do you mind looking up some information on an Uchida Taizo?

"Yeah, I know, but I need more to go on than just that.

"I'll explain when I get there..."

Nene hung up the phone and went back into the ward to ask Kimi if she was ready to go home, and after repeated assurances of her physical and mental health, Nene called for a nurse and had Kimi discharged. Half an hour later, they arrived back at the apartment that couldn't be theirs for much longer, and without saying anything, Kimi slipped into her room, dressed for bed and shut the door firmly behind her. Nene also noticed, with the watery, hot sensation of a fever, between them.

More than ever, she felt like a coward.

In the twelve years of their friendship, there was nothing Kimi had not been willing to do for Nene. When Nene's mother left, Kimi was there every night making up reasons as to why a job could be so important that it warranted a mother's absence. When the money Nene's mother sent her wasn't enough to cover a nice apartment in the city, Kimi demanded Nene move in with her free of charge. When Heiwajima Shizuo threw a locker into Nene's locker, Kimi stormed up to the strongest boy in Raijin Academy, emptied upon him an avalanche of profanities, and demanded he apologise to the girl whose books he'd crushed. Though he'd outright refused, Kimi had briefly made Nene's crush aware of her existence.

All of this without Nene having ever asked.

While Nene prepared her backpack, images of her friend's defeated, battered face invading her mind, she decided to take a more active role in their friendship, one that constituted her diving headfirst into conflict, she thought with a prickly shiver.

Once she'd finished packing, she said a silent prayer and left the apartment. As she did, her phone rang, Izaya's name flashing alongside her ring tone. She promptly pressed the reject button and locked the door behind her.

* * *

"Simon?"

The huge man lowered his eye-line to the female who had called his name.

"What's wrong with your face?" said Simon in his poorly convincing accent. "Why so sad?

"It's a long story," said Nene.

"You will eat sushi and I will listen. Sushi good today. One hundred percent raw fish today," he said, smiling warmly at her.

The two went inside the Russian Sushi restaurant where Simon prepared something she didn't ask for and she enlightened him on the situation with Kimi.

"Mmm," hummed Simon as he mulled her story over. "This isn't good."

"Yeah... that's why I need to know what you've been able to dig up on Uchida Taizo?" said Nene.

Simon shook his head. "Nene should not get involved with these people. Eat Sushi. Sushi good for you."

"I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"It is not good to fight. How about this, I give you discount on sushi? Eight hundred yen."

"That's full price," she drawled, unimpressed. "Please Simon," she continued, eyes widening imploringly. "Right now, Kimi-chan's in hospital because-"

"No," said the black man, sliding another plate of sushi to her. "Eat and be happy."

Manipulation had never been very effective on Simon, so she wasn't surprised by his response. Regrettably, this meant Nene was forced to a new low, emotional blackmail.

"There are other people I could go to for information. I came to you because you're the safest," she stated, lifting her chopsticks loaded with suspicious sushi and eyeing them warily.

The tall Russian let out a sigh. Unlike Izaya, who exploited others to bring his plans to fruition, Nene used herself as a bargaining chip and to him this was more dangerous and unfortunately, more effective.

"Izaya is a bad influence on you," observed Simon, sliding a folded up piece of paper across to Nene. "Be careful."

"What's the address for?" asked Nene, pointing to the bottom of the page.

"A club Uchida Taizo goes to often," said Simon.

"I guess that's my next stop," muttered Nene, pocketing the piece of paper and taking her wallet out. "Eight hundred right?"

"For you, two thousand," corrected a grinning Simon.

The price of information had skyrocketed, though she suspected it had something to do with her abusing Simon's good nature. Admitting defeat, the young girl handed Simon the cash, "Thanks... please... don't tell anyone about this."

Simon's smile softened again and he repeated his earlier advice, "Be careful."

Two customers entered the mostly empty restaurant as Nene turned around, one of them catching her off guard with his blonde hair, chocolate eyes and towering physique, but luckily, she did not make a fool out of herself. She had more important things to do than harass the boy who only remembered her name fifty percent of the time, so Nene straightened her back and walked straight passed him. Proud of her growth, she started to grin a little... before she pushed the door that clearly said pull and knocked her head against the glass with an audible smack.

"Nene?" A deep voice sounded from behind her.

_He remembered my name;_ she inwardly gasped while cocking her head back and trying to remain cool.

"Oh, hi Shizuo-san," she greeted, beaming in spite of the day she'd had. "How are you?"

"Ahh, fine thanks," responded Shizuo. Then, remembering his manners, he pointed his thumb at his companion. "This is Tanaka Tom, my senpai from middle school."

Though he didn't know it, Nene already knew who Tanaka Tom was, but didn't let this on for fear of seeming like a stalker.

"Nice to meet you Tanaka-san."

Tom shot her a warm smile, before glancing between the two kōhais with an inquisitive expression. Nene, as sharp as always, caught on and turned a shade of pink, her eyes widening slightly. Fortunately, he didn't seem to make anything of it and turned back to Simon to order his food.

Nene didn't have much time to recover from her miniature heart attack because Shizuo then stood up from his seat and motioned to walk her out, and the poor blindsided girl dazedly let him follow her.

"Just wanted to ask..." he muttered, reaching for a cigarette when they got outside. There was a slight edge to his voice as he spoke, and he looked straight over her head as if more interested in something else. "How's Toyoshima doing?"

"Better. The Doctor just discharged her a little while ago so she's at home getting some rest," explained Nene, eyeing Shizuo's face curiously. "...How did you hear about what happened?"

Shizuo's eyes snapped to hers, "Toyoshima didn't tell you?"

Then it hit her, like that initial wall of air hits you when you plummet back down to earth on a roller coaster, right before g-force catches up and you become weightless.

"You're the one that saved her."

Now that she thought about it, she should have been able to piece it together a lot sooner. Uchida Taizo was a large, well-built young man and they'd found him embedded in a vending machine. There was only one man in Ikebukuro Nene could think of that could have put him in such a state and he was standing right in front of her rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

"I guess you could say that..." a well-recognised scowl returned to his face as he started muttering darkly under his breath.

Nene was barely listening. All she could think about was 'what if Shizuo hadn't been there' over and over again. Her chest began to swell with gratitude while her heart rate sped up. Suddenly, she felt inflated, engorged with appreciation and love for the man that saved her friend's life and she couldn't stand there much longer listening to him talk himself into a rage.

"...scumbags beating on womeh- huh?" Shizuo's tirade broke off when he felt a warm body barrel into him.

Looking down he saw Nene's dark head of hair buried into his torso, her working arm wrapped around his waist, squeezing him for dear life. Shizuo's mouth fell open and his half-smoked cigarette barely missed toppling into her hair.

"Uh...Ahhh."

It was an alien feeling, being hugged by someone other than his parents. Nene's touch was firm and desperate, as if she too yearned for the same closeness that eluded him and it made an unfamiliar, but not entirely unwelcome gooey warmth spread throughout his whole body. Sadly, before he was able to conclude whether or not he wished to reciprocate, Nene tore herself away.

"I-I," she stammered, her face scarlet. "Thank you for what you did for Kimi," she sputtered. "I- Ihavetogonow!"

Then she quickly ran off, leaving a dumbfounded Shizuo to wander back into Russian Sushi where he would spend the next half an hour being interrogated by Simon as to why he smelt like a raspberry before embedding a chair in a wall.

* * *

From a distance Izaya watched this exchange, appearing indifferent despite the twitch at the edge of his mouth. He watched as his Nene scampered off towards the nearest convenience store and Shizuo remained rooted to the spot. Though he wasn't surprised that the protozoan was flabbergasted by such an act, since freaks were usually shunned, it did annoy Izaya however, when Shizuo turned around and revealed a a blush diffused over his cheeks. The urge to jump out in front of his enemy, if only to spoil his little moment, was shelved for more pressing matters.

He dialled Nene's number and waited patiently as it rang.

"Hi, I can't answer your call right now, so leave a message and I'll get back to you."

"Yo Nene-chan," he exclaimed in a chipper tone. "This is the third message I'm leaving! You're not avoiding me are you?" He let out a self-assured laugh and abruptly stopped. His voice altered, becoming disturbingly sweet and silken and were Nene to have been present to see the unsettling smile curling at his lips, she would have known Izaya was up to something devious. "Of course you're not, that would hurt my feelings and you'd never do that. Hah, whatever! Call me back as soon as you get this or I might just have to come find you."

Menace laced his final words and he was partially aware of his immaturity, of the possessive behaviour he'd begun to display over the course of his friendship with Nene. 'Partially' because he didn't realise how it had spun from his control. Would it have mattered either way? There was no doubt that Orihara Izaya would have incarcerated this snippet of self-awareness in a chained up treasure chest where the other trinkets of his denial withered and waned.

Swivelling, the young man skipped along the overpass. He didn't stop until after he'd entered a fancy apartment building and exited its elevator on the top floor, where his footfalls sobered completely. Wiping his face clean of the excited smile he so desperately wanted to flaunt, he playfully rapped a rhythm against the door.

A minute later, it was swung open.

"Nene's not here," Kimi snapped. Her hair was mussed and she was squinting through her good eye, so it was safe to say she'd been taking an afternoon nap. "So fuck off."

Izaya couldn't help that bitter smirk. It was too delicious.

"I didn't come here to talk to Nene-chan," he explained, lithely slipping through the allowed gap before Kimi could protest.

"Look you asshole, unless you want my foot through your fucking face I suggest you get the hell out of my apartment," snarled the young girl, continuing to hold the door open. "You have five seconds..."

Izaya fell back into one of the leather chairs, his arms splayed comfortably over the sides, his perpetual smirk oozing arrogance. He had no intention of leaving.

"Five...four...three...two-"

"I wonder, how _do_ you intend to pay off your debt?" sang Izaya.

Kimi's face lost its remaining colour.

"Your father's cut off your allowance and the little money you have left in your account needs to go towards rent," continued Izaya.

With a flick of her wrist, Kimi slammed the door closed. Striding over, she took a seat opposite Izaya, her colourless face carved with fury.

"You're thinking that I'm the one that told Kenta?"

Kimi's fist curled and uncurled stiffly as she watched Izaya with a murderous glare.

"Sorry to disappoint you but it wasn't me," said Izaya, waving his hand as if to dismiss such a ludicrous suggestion. "Not to say, I didn't think about it."

"And I'm supposed to believe that."

"Ahhhh well... look at it this way: most people in your position aren't expected to pay off their debts just like that... men like Kenta figure out other ways for you to make it up to them... creative ways," Izaya's smirk grew sinister, "I think it's when they're told their clients are planning to skip out on them that they get angry."

"And how did they find _that _out?" spat Kimi, her chipped nails digging into her thighs.

Izaya clucked mockingly, "Information costs money Kimi-chan and since you don't have that anymore I can't help you."

Kimi shot up and grabbed an empty mug off the coffee table, raising it above her shoulder threateningly. "If I find out that you were responsible for this," she roared, "I swear-"

Instantly, Izaya's expression turned from haughty and intrigued to uninterested with a hint of annoyance.

"I didn't come here to have my life violently threatened by another protozoan," he said with a sigh, "...I want to make you a deal."

"As if I'd ever do that with such a low life piece of scum," she jeered.

"Oh... is that so? Big talk for someone who's been carrying around cocaine in her Gucci handbag. _Hey_, doesn't that constitute as making deals with low life pieces of scum?"

Earlier that day Kimi had received one violent blow after another, but this one stung the worst because it landed smack bang against her most prized possession... her ego. Shame coloured her silence as she placed the mug carefully back on the table and sat down.

"Ahh... does this mean Kimi-san is willing to listen to me?"

* * *

That evening, rounding a squalid street corner on the seedier part of town, Nene found herself waiting in line amongst a crowd of jarring, scantily clad bodies that made her feel out of place with her jeans, thick cardigan and arm brace. The woman next to her had, after thirty minutes of being squashed against her, introduced herself as Payal, a tourist from Europe who was travelling all over Asia with her best friend and had been hitting up the Ikebukuro club scene for the last couple of weeks. They talked in English because Payal's Japanese was poor and soon Nene was able to learn that Kimi had been a regular, and would hang out at the back with the more 'shady folk' as Payal put it.

When the older woman realised Nene was seventeen and without a fake I.D. Nene unsuspectingly found her cardigan being torn off and her hair yanked out of its clips. For their rest of the wait, Payal applied some makeup to Nene's seventeen-year-old face in an effort to make her look more as if she belonged.

And it seemed to work.

Upon reaching the front of the queue, with a waggle of Payal's magic tongue, Nene was admitted entrance.

Now if only she could take it back, she thought as she stepped out from one throng of heaving masses into another sweatier one.

Overhead was an iridescent ceiling, which occasionally the club and all its faces with electric blue or neon green. Lasers bounced over the room and powerful strobes flashed in synchronisation to the music blaring from all aspects, raiding her eardrums to the point where her skull was pulsating alongside the beat.

It didn't take long to lose her friend in the dancing amoeba, and she quickly found herself being hauled along in a sea of gyrating bodies. Since she wasn't looking to dance, Nene had to shove and push her way through the intoxicated dance floor, letting out a scandalised gasp when her butt was pinched on her way out of being double-teamed by two women. At last, she emerged in front of the bar where she was lucky enough to find a seat and was allowed to resume semi-normal respiratory functions.

Her strange appearance warranted a dubious look from the bartender as he served her water. Gulping it down hurriedly, she exhaled in relief.

The bartender swerved away and didn't come back to speak to her, disappointing Nene who had wanted to question him concerning Kimi or Taizo. Who better to ask about the goings on in a club than the ever-watchful bartender? Now she was forced to rely on her contingency plan and that made her sweat from places she hadn't been aware had glands.

Spinning around on her barstool, she surveyed the layout and attempted to locate where the _back_ was. It didn't take long since people seemed to give its entrance a wide berth, no one daring to breach the empty semi-circle of space even accidentally, probably fearing the bouncer lurking nearby. His face was permanently moulded in an intimidating frown and he wore a black suit, which seemed to choke his thick neck and overly muscular arms and his hip sported a bulge that Nene assumed was a gun. She could tell that without an invitation, there was no way she was getting in.

Doubt had already started to make its way into her heart. She started to wonder if she was on a fool's errand. Here, sitting on a barstool, head pounding, she felt anxiety creep up on her torturously slow. Her fingers reached tentatively for her phone so she could call Simon and ask him to rescue her, knowing that though it would go unsaid, the shaming 'I told you so' expression would be smacked on his face in the form of a warm smile.

Before she could though, a busboy stepped out of the _back_ and staggered over to the bar balancing a tray full of empty glasses. He set it down and gestured to the bartender, who came and threw them below the bar. While he waited for his tray to be restocked, he saw the nervous looking girl clutching her phone.

"You alright?" he shouted.

When she didn't respond, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Nene's head jerked up.

"I said are you alright?"

"Yeah," she shouted back, though her face said otherwise.

"You sure? You look like you're about to puke?"

Nene snorted derisively before shrugging it off. "I'm fine."

The stranger didn't look convinced, but the drinks he'd ordered had arrived. "I'll be back in a second," he told her.

She watched him as he disappeared into the backroom and a light bulb went off in her head.

"Hey!" yelled the stranger upon returning, this time without a tray.

Nene shot him her best smile, "Hi."

"Ah you're looking better already," he commented, leaning against the counter.

"Thanks...um-"

"Murakami Ryo," he introduced, extending his hand.

"I'm Lisa" she lied, shaking it, "Um... Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, what about?"

Nene glanced around her, "Do you mind if we go somewhere more private?"

A look of surprise appeared on his face. "Sorry Lisa-san, you're cute but I have a girlfriend-"

"No, its not that," she said, blushing.

Ryo's face merely darkened. "Wow, that's embarrassing," he muttered to himself.

Nene watched him as he silently berated himself for his blunder.

"Well...?"

Ryo nodded his head and led her through a door painted black to blend into the wall. It took them out into the alley behind the club where two industrial sized bins sat. Immediately, she moved to the opposite wall, distancing herself from the rancid smell of garbage.

Outside it was quiet, save for the muffled thump of the bass and Nene took a moment, now that he was lit by a normal street lamp, to size up the man in front of her. He was taller than Nene by at least a head but still shorter than say Shizuo, and had an athletic build that told her he could easily hold his own in a fight.

"So what did you want to ask me?" Ryo said.

Nene's eyes snapped onto his face, quickly analysing his peculiar features. He had a slightly upturned nose and the roundest eyes she'd ever seen, making him appear childlike, if not for the defined cheekbones and pointed face. It was as if he was a fairy creature or a pixie, thought Nene in fascination.

"Okay..." the dark haired girl took deep breath. "Do you know someone named Uchida Taizo?"

To most, the slight but important change in Ryo's countenance would have gone unnoticed, but to Nene he was an open book.

"I should get back to work," he said coolly.

He motioned to walk back inside, but Nene wasn't having it. She reached out and clamped a hand around his arm.

The next thing she knew, a hand was pressed to her chest and she was pinned against the wall.

"You're one of Kimi's friends aren't you?" he growled, towering over her, a picture of unadulterated fury.

Nene's eyes were the size of saucers and she was at a loss for words as she stared at the man restraining her.

"Well you tell Kimi," he spat, "that I won't forgive her if Taizo dies."

"Taizo tried to beat her half to death!" Nene retorted.

A disdainful smile appeared on Ryo's lips. "Is that what she told you?"

She swallowed at the pressure he was exerting on her chest. "She hasn't really told me anything... but I saw what he did to her and-"

"Taizo would NEVER lay a hand on Kimi," he snapped. "The dumb bastard's head over heels in love with her and I can bet you anything that when SHE was getting trampled, HE was trying to save the ungrateful bitch."

A cold feeling washed over her body. "Huh?"

Letting go of Nene, he turned to leave once again.

"Wait!" she called, cringing as she rubbed her sore chest.

He paused in his stride, shoulders slumping almost in defeat. "Look I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Forcing herself to smother all of her doubts, she marched past him and blocked his way. "I want you to tell me what Kimi-chan's involved in."

"Ask _her_?" he exclaimed, sounding exasperated. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm Kimi-chan's best friend."

Ryo rolled his eyes disbelievingly, "Liar. Her best friend's some weird, quiet kid named Nene or something."

The weird, quiet kid raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Oh... that's you," Ryo said unapologetically, adding a sarcastic, "You two must be close."

"We are," she said simply, "But she won't tell me anything and you're the only other person who knows what's going on."

He put his thumbs up mockingly, "Like I said, _close."_

He tried steering round her but she sidestepped. He tried again and it resulted in the same frustrating outcome. That's when he lost his patience and attempted to shove her, but what he hadn't counted on, was the girl's aggressive reaction.

Her hand shot out and grabbed Ryo's wrist. Before he could counter, she'd twisted it behind him and locked his arm in position. Then with one forceful shove, she drove him to his knees.

"Bitch," he hissed out.

Not taking any chances with one hand out of commission, she dug her knee into his spine and, throwing all her weight on top of him, forced him flat on his stomach.

"Just tell me what you know and I'll let you go," she implored.

Ryo wrenched his face around, his chin scraping against the gravel.

"When you let me go I'm going to kick your ass," he ground out.

"I could dislocate your wrist," Nene warned, and to make sure he knew she was serious she pressed down on it.

He winced in pain, but refused to make a sound. One might look into his eyes and see pride, and maybe they would admire him for not screaming out for help, but Nene knew what was really up. She saw the tenacity of a young man who did not want anyone to know his ass was being kicked by a girl in an arm brace.

"I'll just relocate it," the struggler grunted as he endeavoured to wriggle out.

A troubled frown appeared on her face. She hated confrontation, yet here she was holding a man's limbs hostage while attempting to extort information from him. She was beginning to understand the truth of Simon's earlier statement. Izaya really was a bad influence on her.

"Okay, I'll break it then," she told him, bending his wrist back unnaturally.

The young man's breathing grew laboured and he issued a quiet groan. In one last attempt at freedom, he swung his free arm to grab her, but Nene instantly switched positions so she was saddling his back and pinned it down with her foot, immobilising him. She'd had the foresight to borrow a pair off clunky boots from Kimi.

"Fucking CUNT," snarled Ryo, glaring at her from his visible eye.

"Tell me what Uchida Taizo and Kimi-chan are involved in," ordered Nene.

"Hah," he snorted. "Break it. I don't care."

"Just tell me!"_  
_

"I knew you were all talk, you puss-_OH_ MY GOD!"

As tempting as it had been, she'd only dislocated it. She flinched as he let out a short cry before groaning quietly.

"I have money."

Ryo stopped groaning. "How much money?"

"... Twenty five thousand," she said with a disappointed sigh, less impressed by his willpower.

"Twenty five thousand huh? Well, this is what you should do... _take_ that money, put it in a money clip and SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE," he roared, thrashing beneath her.

"You are so annoying!"

"The feeling's mutual you fat cow."

Nene's patience was beginning to wear and she entertained thoughts of snapping his wrist. Shaking herself out of such morbid thoughts, she attempted to play on his heartstrings.

"I just want to know who hurt her and why," she said softly, clenching her jaw as if her heart ached.

It seemed Simon wasn't the only one immune to manipulation.

"_Oh, _not knowing must be _so_ hard for you," Ryo mocked in an overly sympathetic tone. "I can't _imagine _what you're going through."

Then another light bulb flashed in her head.

"I know who beat up Uchida Taizo."

It wasn't very bright.

Ryo's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying," Nene told him firmly. "Please... if you tell me what I want to know, I'll tell you what you want to know."

Nene afforded him the few minutes' silence he needed to mull over her proposition.

"Set up a meeting between us, me and the cunt that did it and it's a deal."

_**Half an hour later**_

When she boarded the train, she sat down in one of the empty carriages, leaned back and stared at the opposite window, watching the city lights zip by her. Despite feeling a sense of relief after her unbelievable success, new revelations had shaken her to the core. It was as though the claws of uncertainty digging into her heart had freed their hostage, only to have reality swoop down and snap it away.

The more she replayed what Ryo had said to her, the more she felt like she no longer knew who Toyoshima Kimi was. Nene inhaled deeply through her nose and gritted her teeth. When the train reached her stop, she quickly wiped her cheeks off with the back of her hand and disembarked, paving her face over with solidness.

Not quite ready to go home, she wandered absent-mindedly t Russian Sushi.

It was still open past midnight and she slipped through the door and walked up to the counter. Simon took one look at her unharmed face and smiled that genuine warm smile of his that eased her somewhat.

"It went well?" he asked.

Nene didn't respond, her eyes beginning to lull with the weight of her exhaustion.

"Would you like me to take you home?" Simon offered.

"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?" muttered the young girl, resting against the counter.

"You buy Sushi and everything is okay!" exclaimed the exuberant large man.

But Nene had already dozed off.

* * *

It was shameful, thought Nene as she scrutinised Kimi the next day, how she'd missed all of the obvious signs. Then again, considering how they barely hung out anymore it didn't come as much of a shock. The nose rubbing, the dilated pupils, the increased irritability, the weight loss, all of it was now glaringly obvious to Nene, self-righteously parading about the fruits of its conquest.

"So how come I haven't met this _Lisa _who you have never mentioned before?" insisted Kimi.

"You're acting a lot like a jealous girlfriend, Kimi-chan," said Nene with a sigh, detecting the paranoia in her voice.

"Well you stay out all night without answering your mobile. I have every right to be concerned."

Nene shrugged and quietly went about searching the fridge for food. Unfortunately, since their funds were low, owing to a certain roommate's desire to live fast and loose, all that was left was a four-day-old bowl of Domburi that Kimi's mother had sent them, a block of cheese and some bread.

"By the way, your dad called," said Kimi. "Said he wants to take you to dinner or something tomorrow night."

"I'll call him back later," Nene muttered offhandedly, continuing to peer into the fridge.

The inner battle as to whether or not she should eat the questionable food or pass it up for a cheese sandwich raged on while Kimi cut up the credit cards her father had cancelled earlier that week.

"Goodbye Versace, goodbye Dolce, I hardly knew you," she mused wistfully aloud.

With a slam of the refrigerator door, Nene stalked out of the kitchen.

"Hey, what's your problem?" demanded Kimi, abandoning her work in favour of following after the moody teenager.

Mid storm-off, Nene abruptly swerved round, almost causing Kimi to run into her.

"Why did Uchida Taizo attack you yesterday? And why are you acting as if nothing happened?" she asked.

"Now who's acting all concerned?"

A spasm had developed above Nene's left eyebrow. "Kimi-chan..."

"Look okay, I have no idea who that guy was... He just attacked me, probably because he's insane or something and I'm acting as if nothing happened because I want to pretend nothing happened," Kimi stated convincingly, crossing her arms across her chest. "Do you have a problem with that? Can you just let it go now, thanks?"

"Of course."

"Great."

Nene forced a disingenuous smile on her face, figuring that Kimi would see what she wanted to see. After all she was so good at lying, Nene was beginning to think Kimi had started to believe her own bullshit.

A familiar rhythmic tap on the front door caught their attention, and Nene's stomach curdled. While Kimi rolled her eyes and disappeared into her bedroom, Nene marched over to the front door and opened it, unsurprised by the dark clad figure leaning lazily against the doorframe wearing an easy smirk.

"Long time no see," he greeted, walking into their home without invitation.

"I saw you yesterday Izaya," Nene pointed out, locking the door behind him.

Instinctively she made for her treasured beanie bag chair, sinking into it lazily. Izaya stretched his arms, elegantly arching his back before falling back on the couch and set a probing pair of eyes on Nene's blank face.

"It's not nice to ignore people," he admonished, voice laden with derision.

"I was busy," was all the explanation she offered. Her fingers itched to grab the remote and turn the TV on. Maybe if there were a mundane soap opera between them, Izaya wouldn't ask stupid questions that she had no intention of answering.

His eyes narrowed in scepticism, but his smirk persisted. "Busy doing what? You have no friends."

"I do have friends," she said curtly. "And shopping."

"Oh yeah? And what did you buy with your nonexistent funds?"

"Girl stuff."

"Now _that's _definitely a lie! How you break my heart," Izaya lamented insincerely.

Although he made light of it, there was friction between them and Nene knew she was partly to blame. After their conversation in the hospital, Nene felt distanced from Izaya and without meaning to, she had taken a step further back. As much she wanted to ignore what she'd witnessed pass over him, she couldn't move on without understanding what it was in the first place. Knowing Izaya, that was either impossible or a task so daunting that, in light of all that had happened with Kimi, she hadn't the time or the energy.

Perhaps it would be wise to tell him that.

"I'm sorry but..."

Izaya raised an eyebrow, but, interest piqued, he let her continue.

"I don't have time for your games right now," she said, ripping off the plaster.

Izaya's brow furrowed.

"And what games am I playing?" he asked weightlessly, goading her almost with his self-satisfied smirk.

Nene snorted. "I don't know, but it's probably dangerous and it's going to turn you into a bigger asshole."

Izaya feigned a heartbroken expression. "That's hurtful."

"It's honest."

A lazy smirk drifted over his lips and Izaya let out a glittery laugh, bounding off the sofa.

"If Nene-chan doesn't have time to entertain me," he said, a sigh underlying his words, "I guess I'll just have to entertain myself."

"Don't do anything stupid," said Nene, smiling somewhat, "or I'll be forced to set Kimi-chan on you."

Izaya's lips twitched. "Scary, scary," he gasped dramatically, his smirk unwavering. "Byebye Nene-chan."

Shortly after Izaya left, Kimi re-emerged and unknowingly occupied Izaya's seat. Guiltily, Nene realised that she would have preferred her absence, the feeling growing when Kimi carelessly decided to drop a bomb on the already worn out Nene.

"Oh yeah, I gave Izumi-san our two week notice," she said abruptly, "But I told her we're moving out as soon as possible so we need get packed."

"But we haven't even found a place to live yet," said Nene, overlooking Kimi's urgency to leave, since she was already aware of the reason.

"I have," notified Kimi with an arrogant smirk.

"When?"

"Yesterday," she retorted, annoyed at the lack of faith her friend showed. "While you were sleeping round at Lisa's or whatever her name is, _I_ procured a small two bedroom flat on _ Street."

"Isn't that next to the Red Light District?" questioned Nene, eyes narrowing.

Rolling her eyes, Kimi waved it off. "Who _cares_? It's not like we're going to live _in_ the brothel and its cheap to rent."

"How cheap?"

"Thirty-five thousand roughly," said Kimi, a haughty glint in her eyes.

Nene let out a disgruntled grumble before accepting defeat. "Fine, but I'm checking out the place first."

"I can't take you, I have to pack and find someone to buy all our stuff," Kimi told her.

"Beanie bag stays," warned Nene, "So does my desk and chair."

"They won't fit in your room," snapped Kimi.

"They're the only things I bought with my hard-earned money," Nene pointed out, referring proudly to her part-time job last year at the bakery, which was prematurely terminated on account of someone stealing most of the product

Kimi huffed in her irritation, "Do whatever the hell you want just be prepared to sleep on that desk."

As the ex-heiress turned to grab her handbag, Nene swiftly stuck up her middle finger, fleetingly indulging her resentment before having to lower it again when Kimi sat back up.

Rifling through the handbag, Kimi took out a piece of paper and tossed it to Nene.

"That's the address. Ask the landlord to give you the papers you need to sign and show you around," Kimi instructed before retreating to her room.

Later, while Nene buttoned up her coat on her way out to inspect their new dwelling, she warred with the desire to tell Kimi she knew everything, but she wondered if it would do any good. Either Kimi was in denial as to how far she'd fallen, or she simply didn't care. After knowing her so long, Nene was inclined to go with both. Growing up as rich man's daughter meant she had been infused with the philosophy that money could solve all of her problems. It made sense that since she had so much of it to throw around, Kimi had never experienced true hardship, and in turn a sense of vulnerability. As one might expect, she came to believe that she was invincible regardless, so even now that she was flat broke, Kimi remained conceited.

After being thrashed by a gang of vicious brutes, she still felt untouchable because that's what she had been all her life. This was just a tiny slip up, a snag in the grand scheme of things where she would eventually come out on top. Her self-importance and her denial would lead to her ruin and she would end up either unbearably humiliated or simply dead unless someone else intervened.

* * *

The beeping of the heart monitor was intrusive, grating on Shizuo's paper-thin nerves. In spite of this, he couldn't tear himself from the comatose man lying on the hospital bed. If someone had looked at Shizuo then, they would have recognised the subtle affliction in his eyes, the remorse in his sagging shoulders and the fist he squeezed, enraged that he should even feel guilty.

_**The Day Before**_

Something came out of nowhere and collided with him. Shizuo twitched, grabbed it by the scruff of its collar and wrenched it away from his body so he could glare at the offender.

What he saw made a cold chill run up his spine.

Toyoshima Kimi's sobbing, bloodied face, swollen eye, broken nose, torn jacket, split lip, bleeding skull, bruised arms. It made an alien emotion surge through him. It was similar to rage, but it wasn't so much hot as it was scalding, ferocious and bloodthirsty.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, voice chillingly even.

Before Kimi could say anything, a man skidded out of the same alleyway, knuckles bruised, face scratched, t-shirt ripped, and sporting a black eye. Shizuo's question was answered.

Gently passing the trembling girl off to Shinra, who was already calling an ambulance and gazing at his friend with a mixture of awe and horror, he strode passed the piece of scum, over to a telephone pole.

Frozen to the spot, the attacker stared at Shizuo with an expression that said he too sensed the danger.

"You the guy that beats up women?" Shizuo asked offhand, as if he were just making casual conversation.

Gulping, the scumbag shook his head, now realising he should back away.

"Tch, you know you can kill someone by lying to them. You could tell someone that you were going to the library when really you were going to a wrestling match. They'd come looking for you and accidentally get hit by a car and die. There's a chance that that could happen. Even if it's small. So I take it you want to kill me... then you're prepared to die right?"

Snapping his hand out, Shizuo tore the telephone pole from the ground. A loud metallic groan accompanied blue sparks crackling excitedly as the wires overhead snapped and fluttered in the air.

"W-wait, wait, dude!"

An evil, demented grin spread over Shizuo's face. His other hand curled around his new weapon and he gripped it with two hands like he was holding a bat.

"Just calm down for second its not what-"

But Shizuo had swung.

The scumbag went flying, far, far down the street, past a distraught Kimi, past a minivan full of tourists until finally spearing through vending machine with a definitive crunch.

"Woah," yelled Shinra, peeking up from his hiding place behind a dumpster. "Did you aim for that?"

The sound of a siren cut their chat short, and soon afterwards, Shinra convinced his friend to flee the scene before he was hauled off to a police station.

_**Present Day**_

On his way out that morning, as he passed through the living room where Kasuka was watching the News, Shizuo caught sight of Uchida Taizo's face.

"_...in critical condition, doctors are now saying it's unlikely he'll wake up. There's speculation he may not make it through the night..."_

Of course, what he'd done had seemed reasonable at time, but in his rage, he had ignored the consequences of his actions. If the man in front of him did flat line, could Shizuo still accept what he'd done as reasonable? Could he ignore that he'd killed a man and move on with his life? Perhaps if that wretched symbiont didn't exist, he would have been able to suppress his rage long enough to think things through. Instead of putting Uchida Taizo into a coma, he could have realised that Kimi was safe and just handed the man over to the police relatively unharmed. The asshole would have gone to prison, served his sentence as justice intended and Shizuo wouldn't be facing the possibility of becoming a murderer.

The sound of typing reached him and his eyes softened.

[Are you okay?] Read the palm pilot that was suddenly thrust in front of his vision.

"Had better days," muttered Shizuo, gaze never leaving Uchida. "When'd you get back?"

[This morning, Shinra told me what happened.]

Though he appreciated Celty's concern for him, he wasn't in the mood to talk. There was no way she could have comforted him anyhow. It's not like she could say, "Don't blame yourself" or "It's not your fault" since it was _entirely _his fault and he was _completely _to blame.

[Anyone else would have reacted the same way.]

Shizuo's fist tightened and he stood up.

Except, he was much stronger than 'anyone else' and even if he could write that off on some freak mutation, he could not do the same with his temper. That was his own defect, his own inability to control his emotions. He wished to be rid of his strength or at least be rid of the anger that seemed to charge it.

Realising that he needed to put some distance between himself and the man he'd hospitalised, he decided to postpone his self-deprecation and exited the room.

While walking down the corridor leading out of the ward, in his stupor, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry."

"No problem."

Fortunately, Shizuo was too preoccupied to notice the young man enter Uchida Taizo's room, or else he may have stuck around to discover a dark haired flea lurking in the shadows.

* * *

Izaya released the breath he'd been holding after Shizuo and Celty disappeared out of view and slipped out from behind the curtain. He truly hadn't expected to see Shizuo coming to visit the man Izaya suspected he'd battered less than twenty-four hours ago, but then, thought the teen with a bitter smile, the lumbering buffoon had always been an anomaly. He could only hope and pray that Shizuo's unpredictable behaviour would not cause any further hiccups in his brand new game.

Shelving these reservations for another time, Izaya allowed himself one last chuckle before shrouding his glee with a solemn expression and entering the patient's room.

Inside, along with the unconscious Uchida Taizo, sat the grave, rigid form of a black haired man staring at the ceiling.

"Where'd you go?" he asked curtly.

"Saw an old friend," Izaya said cryptically, closing the door behind him and walking over to the other side of the bed.

Bright jets streamed through the window, basking the coma patient in an unbefitting glow. Casually lifting himself onto the windowsill, Izaya eclipsed the sun's presence.

"I won't keep you long anyway," said the man, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and extracting an envelope. "This should cover it."

He lobbed it across the room and onto his companion's lap. Using his fingers to spread it apart, Izaya had a little peek, eyebrows jumping in astonishment at the wad of cash that would more than cover it.

"You're almost being too generous," said Izaya, restraining his smirk.

The man didn't respond, returning to stare at the ceiling.

"I'll call you as soon as I get some information," Izaya told him.

Presuming his client had nothing left to say, he leapt off the windowsill and glided towards the door, his visage beginning to crack beneath all this delightful tension he had orchestrated.

"You have no idea... who did this?"

Though he uttered the words flatly, there was no ignoring the bone chilling malice underlining them. Izaya cocked his head back to scrutinise the man whose face was, as always, unreadable.

"I promise you, Kenta-san," assured Izaya, "If I hear anything, you'll be the first person I call."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **OKAY! So one could say that the story has really and truly just begun.

I should admit that this was not the original direction for the story but then the ideas kept hitting me and eventually the formed a rather lucid plot. Not, however, lucid enough just yet, that's why all of you may see this chapter as quite vague but I've left it vague purposely because I'm still trying to iron out the kinks of my brand new plot-line. If anyone would like stuff cleared up, say so in a review or drop me a PM and I will gladly respond to you with all the information I _can_ give out. I don't want to ruin anything interesting after all.

I am relatively proud of this chapter because I have spent a tonne of time on it trying to proof it over and over again. If it does suck, apologies! Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and hope (since I've finished college now) I will be updating much faster. Again, thanks for all the reviews, faves and alerts!


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Ahh... I do believe this was a quicker update just about. Ah, well thank you for all of your reviews, your favourites and your alerts; they have driven me to try to perfect this, try being the operative word! Thank you **Random Fan **for your review and your kind feedback!_**_  
_**

**Break You  
**

**Chapter 6**

Throughout his life, he had never had a problem making friends. In addition to being a silver-tongued devil, he had a natural inner charisma, an unexplainable ability to enter a room and have everyone gravitate towards him, like plants bending towards the light. However, keeping friends was another story. With all of his charm he could not mask the streak of self-destruction that plagued him. It came out at the worst of times, like a bolt of lightning splitting an irreparable crevice in his life, forcing him to start again and salvage his existence before it slipped into futility.

Everyone who had ever been close to him would agree that his stubborn pride would be the end of him one day.

Its stiff shouldered embrace had more than often sent him careening off into oblivion before he was completely aware of what he was doing. It was why he had a tattoo of a flaming skull on his left shoulder. It was why his sister hid her personal life from him. It was why red had begun to creep along the edges of his vision, like ribbons of blood diffusing through water. That moment, only one thing stood clear; that seventeen-year-old brat, the one who held all the cards, the one he intended to shakedown until every last one fell into his lap.

* * *

A newly healed arm shot out from betwixt a tangled mess of covers and grabbed the phone buzzing spastically on the bedside table. Nene pressed the cancel button, groaned and dragged herself out of bed. Over the last several weeks, though she had become accustomed to the shrill alarm, every time it intruded on her sleep she would be reminded of their depressing predicament and her head would start to hurt. A dull, repetitive ache at the back of her skull.

Shortly after the attack on Kimi, they had moved into what could simply be described as a hovel. The living room and kitchen lacked the general partition of a door, a wall or an arch. The former was embarrassingly unfurnished save for Nene's purple beanie bag chair and Freddy Krueger's faded grey couch, and the latter consisted of a single counter top, a gas stove that worked occasionally and a sink that proved equally problematic. What Nene hated most however, were the varying ceiling heights and the overall narrowness of the abode having always felt uneasy in tight spaces. Sometimes she felt like Alice after drinking the potion that made her grow, unable to fit, limbs squashed up against walls, clumsily bumping into things.

Meanwhile, Kimi had adjusted to the minute residence with little fuss save for the occasional griping that her single bed was uncomfortable to sleep on. Looked like she was good at swallowing her lumps, thought Nene a little jealously. As if to make up for this placidity, Kimi had instead become more short-fused when it came to other things, like their school, their finances, their friendship group and Nene's attitude towards her. Complaints about Nene's new tone of voice, a rather embittered and shaming one, pointed out Kimi, recurred almost nightly before they angrily went off to their respective rooms.

A haggard young girl staggered into the cramped hallway running between their rooms and the tiny low-ceiling bathroom they were forced to share. Since, out of the two of them Nene spent less time in the bathroom, she used it after Kimi, who had agreed to wake up at five so she could have a whole hour to herself. Except their system was flawed because Kimi, being Kimi, would often oversleep, which in turn would make Nene late and more inclined to relinquish her principles of conflict avoidance in favour of killing her best friend.

This morning was no different.

"We're going to be late," shouted Nene, thudding the door with her fist. "It's quarter past six!"

God, how she hated this place.

"Five minutes," Kimi yelled shortly.

"But we have to leave soon."

"Five minutes won't fucking kill you!"

It was times like these, thought Nene, slumping against the wall, that she was glad she'd never been gifted with a sibling.

Despite the routine of early morning chaos, the girls reached Raijin just before the bell rang, silently parting ways at the entrance as they sprinted to their classrooms. Unfortunately, when Kimi skidded round the last corner, she found Orihara Izaya standing serenely in front of her locker.

A close-mouthed smile stretched lazily across the troublemaker's face.

"Yo, Kimi-san."

"We're seriously going to do this here?" Kimi said with a combination of anger and disbelief.

"Why not?" Izaya said smoothly, retrieving an envelope from his bag. "Or are you afraid that someone would figure out what we were doing and get me expelled? Ahhh, I'm so flattered, I had no idea that Kimi-san cared about me so much."

A chuckle salted the wounds of his mockery. Ignoring the anger spitting in her eyes, he slipped passed and as he did, pressed the envelope against her chest, ensuring that she saw his smirk.

"Remember you start at five. And try to be on time Kimi-san; you don't want to look unreliable on your first day."

Once she'd shoved the thick envelope into her bag and out of sight, the girl abruptly slammed the locker with her fist, expelled a jittery sigh and continued on her way to class.

* * *

_I wonder... could she ever like me?_ said the all too familiar expression of the Raijin student encircled by a group of friends, but whose eyes only saw one.

Nene's blank expression rippled as she hurried passed the first year student and into the walkway leading to the sports grounds. Neither Isamu nor Shin, her lunchtime companions were in the canteen so she ventured outside with her homemade chocolate spread sandwich and miniature can of coke and sat down on a lush patch of grass between the bleachers.

_Oh how far the mighty had fallen_, would distantly replay itself in her head as she nibbled at her sandwich and stared at a group of boys playing soccer with faraway eyes.

Her thoughts drifted to Heiwajima Shizuo; how she hadn't seen him since the _awkward hug_. It was understandable; she had been avoiding him after all. That made her wonder. Who would have ever thought that Nene would end up avoiding her crush like the plague but not Izaya, a man that had expressed the desire to _break_ her on more than one occasion?

_I miss him. __Isn't that unhealthy?_  


At first, Nene had easily accepted what had happened to Uchida Taizo as justice, that Shizuo's violent actions were necessary. In fact, one could even go as far as to say she was thankful. That was until she was presented with the possibility that the man was innocent. Then she just felt ill.

Before she knew it, reality had begun to lurch sporadically and she found herself barely hanging on by the pinkie finger.

It was okay to nearly kill someone if they had hurt someone you cared about.

It wasn't okay to nearly kill someone if they had not.

Those were two sides of the same coin, but what about the fact that it was _not_ okay to nearly kill someone _at_ _all?_ Wasn't that some kind of social convention?

Shizuo had nearly killed someone. The way things could turn out, Shizuo could still have killed someone. Shizuo could be a murderer. Could Nene have fallen for a murderer?

Even if she had, did the fact that he had good intentions make it better?

Was he capable of murdering someone else?

Wasn't his inhuman strength a testament to that?

Her coke sizzled as she popped the cap off and tipped it back, gulping down thirstily. These days she always felt a little feverish, her chest a little crowded and drinking something fizzy at least eased the turbulence in her stomach. In no time at all, her inexpensive meal was finished and the can crushed into a flat disc. She slipped it into the little plastic bag that was her lunchbox and got up to throw it in the bin when she heard a metallic clatter.

Following the sound with her eyes, Nene's entire body tensed.

"Hey there," shouted Murakami Ryo, grunting as he climbed the chain link fence. Reaching the top, he swung both legs over and leapt off, landing deftly on the floor in front of her in a crouched position.

"You..."

"What a coincidence running into you here," he said breathily. "Nice day right?"

"This is my school." She said the words aloud, trying to distinguish fact from fiction in such an unreal situation.

Ryo paused midway through brushing the dirt off his knees to gape at her in mock-shock. "It _is_?" he exclaimed, before rolling his eyes.

Had a busboy with a vendetta really just breached school grounds in order to speak to her?

"You don't seem pleased to see me," said Ryo, tightly smiling. "I wonder if that's because the last time we saw each other you promised to tell me who the hell beat up Taizo and _wow_, would you look at that, it's been weeks and I haven't heard a peep from you."

Nene had the grace to look a little ashamed. She was still weighing up the severity of Shizuo's actions against the consequences, and she was drowning in confusion.

"That doesn't give you the right to come to my school," said Nene, regrouping her wits.

His smile fell away completely then and was replaced by a petulant scowl. "Well I did go to your apartment except when I got there your landlady said you'd moved and you didn't leave a forwarding address."

"We couldn't pay the rent-"

"Don't make excuses," Ryo said shortly. "I don't know why you're covering for this guy, but I promise, until I find out who the hell he is, I'm not leaving you alone-"

Hooking her bag over her shoulder, the Raijin student made her way back to the walkway, followed closely by her unwanted visitor.

"-I will stand outside that fence everyday... _watching you_. When you look out a shop window, _my face_ will be pressed against it... _watching_-"

"You can't come in here," she snapped, swinging round.

The insistent young man folded his arms over his chest and smirked. "Then I'll wait until you're finished."

"What if someone finds you and kicks you off the grounds?"

Ryo's smile fell away.

"Give me your address," he demanded.

"No, you know-"

"We made a deal," he exclaimed crossly.

"You know why I can't give you our address. If word gets round-"

"Word _won't_ get round," he ground out impatiently. "Trust me."

The walls were closing in. "I promise I'll call you afterwards..."

___If he was here_... would he help me?

Judging by the deadpan expression he wore, Ryo did not believe her.

"Look," he commanded frostily, moving towards her, "I held up my end of the bargain."

Now he had her backed up against the walkway with nowhere to run. An ice cube of dread slid slowly down her spine and elicited an unconscious shiver. She fought the urge to ram her knee into his groin.

"It's simple, okay kid, simple," he said in a softer tone, relaxing his features and placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "Just give me a name and you'll never have to see me again."

"Maybe it seems simple, but it's not," she said, pressing her back against the cool glass.

_No... he'd use it against me._

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to hurt this person," she said in a small voice, eyes flickering. "And you have to understand, they thought Taizo-san was the one that attacked Kimi-chan."

His hand squeezed as if to reassure her, but Nene, who could tell he had a knack for turning on the charm, for comfort, for support, would not let herself be reeled in so easily.

_I still miss him_.

"What if I promised not to hurt them?" he asked, a sad smile forming on his lips.

Nene gently moved his hand off her shoulder. "I wouldn't believe you."

There was a look shared between them then and a silent understanding transpired. Under false exteriors, their emotions stirred impatiently, waiting to gain control and run rampant in the outside world. The id, the pleasure principle instinctual to all human beings would bypass all reasoning, become a slave to those pesky emotions and consume them if they weren't careful.

Her feelings for Shizuo. His loyalty to Taizo. Her sense of morality. His sense of pride.

It all came thundering down on her.

_Everything's so fucked up._

Without another word, Nene pushed passed him and sprinted away, a destination already in mind.

Ryo, feeling similar, though passing it off as indigestion, didn't bother chasing after her. He figured she'd come find him when she realised he'd swiped her phone.

* * *

"But, Izaya-kun," whimpered Anzu, on the verge of angry tears. "She doesn't care about you. She's just _using_ you.

Izaya coolly brushed her fingers away from him.

"My, my Anzu-chan, you sound a little jealous," he said flatly.

The fifteen year old shook her head wildly. "No, I'm concerned for Izaya-kun. We should get rid of her before-"

"Before what?" Izaya challenged cuttingly, eyes dancing in amusement.

Anzu wavered, mouth agape. "B-before she, she-"

"Like I thought," Izaya said tiredly, having already lost interest. "Jealousy is such an ugly emotion-"

"But-"

"Especially for such a pretty girl," he added slyly. "_Anyhow_... what would your brother think if he found out you were planting on innocent classmates? It's not cute at all Anzu-chan."

And the obsessed girl fell for it, as she always did. "Yes... Izaya-kun."

After dismissing Anzu, the senseless self-appointed head of his followers, Izaya skipped up the stairs to the roof, humming softly under his breath. He felt exalted, over the moon, giddy like a schoolboy on his first day, all because his plan was finally coming to fruition. Soon all of the pieces would be in place, in fact, he was almost positive that they already were. Even Shizuo had unintentionally done him a favour and for that he had briefly considered being nice to the big oaf. That was until he remembered Nene and her pathetic little crush. It generated an unreasonable amount of discomfort, as if his mother had put too much starch in the washing machine and now his shirt felt like a burlap sack.

The girl was like a puzzle piece from another puzzle. If it didn't fit, he might eventually try to jam it in and in the process he might damage it. Then, if one day he found the puzzle it rightfully belonged to, he wouldn't be able to use it.

Maybe that's what annoyed him so much when he thought of her and her discordant existence. He didn't know where she _belonged_ in his grand scheme of things.

Flinging the metal door open, he emerged onto the roof where his lungs were awakened by a gust of fresh air. Then he saw the young girl that had just been occupying his thoughts sitting by the guardrail and he stilled.

"Hey Izaya."

She breathed his name like a sigh of relief.

Walking over, he sat next to Nene, eyebrow quirking when she scooted closer to him and set her gaze expressionlessly outwards. It made an emotion he could not describe curdle in the pit of his stomach. Curdle, because it was most definitely unpleasant.

The troublemaker remained nonchalant, adopting the tone he would to address one of his subordinates; patronisingly sweet, overly comforting.

"Care to tell me what's wrong, Nene-chan?" he asked.

A pursed smile played on her lips and she shook her head, silently requesting that he not broach the subject further.

"Aww did someone upset my Nene-chan?"

Now there was a trace of something else in his voice. It was still patronisingly sweet, still overly comforting but it sought an answer, demanded it even in the icy backdrop of his subconscious. That little treasure chest, locked up tight, chained up firm, rattled.

As if sensing this, Nene told him, "No."

"This is getting boring," he said in a tired voice, but really he was trying not to give away how unusually annoyed he felt.

When she didn't speak, he reached up and pulled her chin down so he could look directly at her troubled face. The inappropriate, unsettling smile appeared, and though neither of them was aware, it wasn't meant for her. It was meant to frighten away the fragility, to snare the wasp stinger she concealed behind a wall of tranquillity.

"You're really pathetic you know," he told her disdainfully.

She winced, but did not refute the accusation.

Indignation stabbed him. Surely, this wasn't how the play was meant to go; she wasn't saying her lines properly.

"Mmm? Well... are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's complicated..."

"How?"

"You would probably just use it against me somehow," she said, sounding regretful.

Smiling bitterly, he challenged her. "Then why are you here?"

"We're friends... good friends, right?"

Izaya appeared highly amused by this question. "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion."

"I was just thinking...it's been a while since we last hung out and I thought we should."

_I missed you._

* * *

It was ten to five and Kimi was early. The man at the reception desk was dressed like a large immaculate shit, brown articles of clothing crisply ironed, hair slicked and combed to perfection, glasses balancing on the tip of his distinguished aquiline nose. As per Izaya's suggestion, she had managed to save a couple of nice outfits in order to fit into the rather anal establishment, which was perfectly exemplified in this frozen faced young man.

"Hello," she greeted, plastering a smile over her hateful glower. Years of practicing for her father's guests had at last come in handy.

He didn't lift his eyes from the computer.

"My name is Toyoshima Kimi, and I have-"

"That way," said the man shortly, directing her to the wide hallway on her left with his spindly index finger. "Last room before the double doors."

Don't blow this.

Though the smile tightened, she forced out a genial sounding, "Thank you."

Her heels clopped loudly against the shiny marble floor and bounced off the walls of an eerily silent establishment. It was too clean and stiff and despite having grown up in an environment in which diamond chandeliers literally dangled overhead, it felt awfully fake.

There was still time to turn back, she thought as her hand reached out to knock. She could go back to her apartment, tell Nene everything, hug it out like normal best friends did and then run home to daddy and beg for his forgiveness. Except, she remembered sullenly, they were not normal best friends and that her father would not forgive her just like that, even if she could bring herself to apologise. Also, what of Taizo's sacrifice, should she not be worthy of it? By running home crying, wouldn't she just be spitting in his face. No, her father's stubbornness far exceeded her own and Nene had already begun to look at her differently, as if Kimi was no longer her confidant. Soon Taizo would wake up and look at her the same way.

This was the only way she could get everything back. If she could prove to the nonbelievers that she was capable of 'bringing home the bacon' so to speak, they would all see that she was responsible. Yes, it was the only way to extinguish the sneering doubt in their eyes, even if the chase did come footed by the devil's pay cheque.

She rapped the door and waited for a response. A few seconds later, it opened, revealing an unsmiling young woman with long black hair swept behind her shoulders and dressed casually in a skirt and turtleneck. Kimi thought this strange, but presumed the woman was from an obscure sect of the company and therefore not expected to adhere as strictly to the dress code.

"You must be the new assistant," said the stoic female.

Kimi nodded politely and outstretched her hand. "Toyoshima Kimi, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Though I see no reason to waste my time, I've been asked me to show you around so I will," she said curtly, ignoring the hand, exiting the room and locking it behind her.

Kimi had been too quick to judge the immaculate shit; this cold fish was far more detestable.

Walking past Kimi, the unnamed woman slid a key-card through an electronic lock and the large double doors swung open. The tour had began and passing over the threshold, Kimi noticed directly that this part of the building was buzzing with activity. People in white coats trailed closely by people in suits zipped from room to room, flashing key cards, holding charts and shutting thick, presumably soundproofed doors behind them. Trays of miniature tankers marked hazardous were carted noisily down corridors by men in pale blue jumpsuits wearing bright yellow gloves, manoeuvring their charges expertly through narrow spaces and dodging those rushing white coats. Along some parts of the corridor, more groups of suits varying in age and gender huddled around large glass panels that allowed a safe glimpse into whatever intrigue lay on the other side.

"This is one of the smaller sections, used for business partners and investors to observe some of the research we do here," said the woman. "It has the lowest clearance."

"So are you like a tour guide or something?" asked Kimi, manners slipping in awe of the thrumming synchronicity.

"No, she was arrested last week for stealing from the company," the young woman stated sternly, a spark of superiority flitting through her eyes.

"So then, who are you exactly?" questioned Kimi, slipping further.

"Yagiri Namie."

Kimi's face fell, "As in the name on the building?"

"Indeed."

The woman Izaya had charged her with spying on.

_**Meanwhile, Russian Sushi**_

They had their own little table, obscurely tucked away in the corner by the infrequently accessed toilets. Izaya wore a childish scowl when Simon had seated them, but at the derisive sideward glance Nene shot him, it quickly transformed into a smirk. Unable to muster her usual snort, she sat down, feeling oddly comforted when he joined her and his knees gently knocked against hers.

They ordered Fatty Tuna, his favourite dish, because Nene had no particular preferences when it came to savoury foods and the interim between ordering and being served was filled by idle chitchat, mostly on Nene's part.

Hayashi-sensei's breath smelt more and more like alcohol every day. Nene suspected this was because of some sort of family tragedy. The old pit-bull had lost her bite.

Izaya concurred half-interestedly, elaborating that her father was terminally ill.

She suspected that several of the girls in Izaya's ranks were plotting to plant drugs in her locker and tip off the headmaster.

That had been the plan before Izaya had reminded them that Nene wasn't fair game... yet.

He was being ominous again, pointed out Nene, earning her a pair of rolled eyes.

How thoughtless, he had only been joking.

She could muster up that snort now.

"Good Sushi for Izaya and Nene," said Simon, voice cheerfully booming as he set the plates down in front of them, "Eat up, enjoy."

"Thanks," they said and commenced eating.

It seemed Nene was not quite ready to talk about what was on her mind and understanding how she worked, he knew the best way to cajole an explanation out of her would not be to pry and prod like he could with others. Most people enjoyed a warm meal and a beating heart to vent out all their angst to, but she was too wary of Izaya. Maybe to Kimi she would have willingly divulged everything, were the circumstances different, but the impish youth had it on very good authority that the ex-heiress was a sizeable chunk of the problem.

They were talking about her being a cruel friend because she hadn't called him in so long when Nene blinked as if remembering something, swallowed quickly, and wrenched her hand into her pocket.

Comprehension dawned on her features.

"Something wrong?" asked Izaya curiously, spine rippling with excitement. He could sense that something interesting was about to happen, or maybe even happening already.

"No... I just need to deal with some- something," she said anxiously, slipping out of her chair. "Can I borrow your-"

That was when Heiwajima Shizuo entered the restaurant. He didn't notice them hidden away at the back, but they could hardly miss his tall figure striding up to the counter.

The trademark Cheshire cat grin grew on Izaya's face while Nene blanched.

"Get out," she said evenly, staring at her crush with a blank expression.

Izaya's eyebrow cocked in amusement. "Still madly in love with that imbecile-"

"You can go through the bathroom window," she continued as if unable to hear him. "I'll pay, don't worry."

His smile faltered somewhat, and seconds later he found her hands on his upper arm, attempting to drag him with all her might towards the toilets and force him inside.

"I'll meet you round the back," she was whispering desperately now and that same feeling he didn't appreciate had risen to his chest. Irritating. "But go before he sees you."

_Is she... trying to protect me?_

The thought was hilarious, and he would have burst out laughing had Nene not, anticipating the expression of insane glee in his eyes, clamped a hand round his mouth.

"Please Izaya," she hissed imploringly.

His back was pressed against the door now, opening it a tad. For a while, he stared soberly at her frantic eyes and then with the regrettable sigh of a child whose fun had been prematurely cut, Izaya acquiesced and slipped away.

Nene pulled out her wallet and reluctantly threw what was left of her weekly allowance on the table. True, she could ask Izaya to pay her back for his half of the meal, but that would only provoke a line of questioning, and she didn't want to discuss her situation with him, though she was sure he already knew about it.

She wouldn't be surprised if he'd had her stalked or that he'd somehow managed to listen to her voicemails. It was what he did best after all.

When they first met, Nene had made it a point to reveal as little as she could. This was not because she had a particularly grim history, at least no more grim than the average persons, but because she had initially been worried that he'd use it to hurt her or manipulate her into joining his ranks. However, during the last few weeks where they'd been separated, she'd started to think that there was an additional reason for her cloak of ambiguity. It made her interesting to him and after all that's part of the reason he'd befriended her.

Swerving round a gaggle of middle school girls, Nene made her way towards the exit.

It was funny but somewhere down the line while she was trying to formulate Orihara Izaya's back-story, she'd been the one stripped bare.

Indeed, Izaya knew little about Nene's relationships or her past but he did know her. He knew which tone of voice she used when she was angry, he knew she didn't have a big, raucous laugh but that she found sarcasm hilarious yet failed miserably when it came to using it. He also knew the little things like her favourite colour or her favourite foods. Essentially, he had cracked the code to _who _she was, so why had he not been able to break her. It must have been endlessly frustrating for him, thought Nene, but she was still in one piece, a little worn for wear, but all together whole. In fact, since meeting him, she felt like she'd gained a friend. It had led her to a conjecture of sorts.

By the time that Izaya had become truly intimate with her personality, did he still want to break her?

A loud bang came from the back, the sound of a door being slammed to announce an entrance.

"Shizu-_chan_."

**_Thirty Seconds Earlier,_**

Three fights already that day and a foul stench had permeated the air. Shrugging it off as best he could, Shizuo decided to take a walk to rid himself of it, buy some takeout and maybe go home and eat it with Kasuka in front of the TV. Of course, the only thing he could afford was, as usual, Russian Sushi. So that's why he ended up standing at the counter waiting for his order, blazer sleeve ripped at the shoulder and someone else's blood caked around his knuckles, when he surprised himself by identifying the familiar face that flash through the queue.

He recalled that hug. That _awkward hug_ he'd received outside of this very restaurant from the same girl. Was that why he was able to recognise her?

Unlike most people, with their predictable fear, she had the tendency to surprise him. Little things, like when she'd stepped between the flea and himself, when she hadn't held a grudge over his breaking her arm, when she bought him a slice of cake (albeit with someone else's money) and tittered at him like they were old friends. The hug took precedence over all these little things, making it perhaps a big thing for Shizuo.

Before he could consider this further, a loud bang caught his attention, and he cocked his head in the direction of its origin.

Instinct clenched his jaw and balled his hands.

"Shizu_-chan._"

Languidly standing only a few feet away from him, mouth curled in a devious smirk, was Shizuo's most despised enemy. Too unaffected, too pleased with himself.

The rage mounted despite his efforts to repress it.

"_I-za-ya_," Shizuo growled, enunciating each syllable venomously.

The temperature of the room dropped as everyone sucked their breaths.

"Hmmm," sounded Izaya curiously, retrieving his switchblade, eyes slanting to reveal something sinister lurking in their depths. "You're not charging at me like a lunatic yet... my, haven't we grown."

"Tch," snapped Shizuo. "What the fuck do you want flea, my patience is running out."

"Just to talk," Izaya said calmly. "You can do that right? Because I wouldn't want to put any stress on that underdeveloped brain of yours. You might end up doing something stupid like, say, nearly kill a man."

"Got a death wish or something?" Shizuo said dangerously.

Izaya tittered amusedly to himself, sauntering forwards, playfully opening and closing his blade. "Like I said Shizu-chan, just want to talk."

Shizuo's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but restrained himself from rejoining with a fist, reminding himself that they were in Russian Sushi and there were a lot of people surrounding them. "Spit it out."

His strong dislike for the blonde momentarily leaked out from his mask in the form of a frown. Heiwajima Shizuo; such a nasty, noisy blotch on humanity.

"Always the impatient one Shizu-chan, it's probably why you ended up putting that poor man in a coma," Izaya speculated aloud. His voice was cutting like a surgical knife.

It was getting increasingly difficult not to pick up the nearby table and fling it at the flea. _All these people could get-_ Except something wasn't right.

A low growl erupted from his throat. "I knew something stank-"

_Table, grab the table, grab it._

"Not finished yet Shizu-chan, all good things come in time," Izaya interjected mockingly, running a thumb across the sharp end of his blade. The veins in Shizuo's neck were pulsing dramatically. "Kimi-san must be so grateful for your intervention. Big strong hero swoops in and saves the damsel in distress, am I right? I bet you're thinking it makes you a little less of a monster."

_Smash it, smash him._

"Alas, I'm sorry to be the one to break the news to you," the flea lamented insincerely, "but I can't let you run around under false pretences, and Nene-chan too. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out. Probably never speak to you again."

_TABLE, TABLE, TABLE!_

A manic grin cracked on Shizuo's face.

"You've already wasted a precious minute of my life," he explained darkly. "I'm not willing to give you any more so you can bore me to death with, hell, whatever the fuck you're talking about."

The gleam of the switchblade shone across Izaya's slanted eyes, which looked a menacing red against the cheap tube lights.

"That's more like it," he breathed excitedly.

* * *

_HRRRRRRRRRRRRK-KSHHHHHHHHH_

A billow of smoke erupted thunderously from Russian Sushi, followed by a chorus of terrified screams. Morbid curiosity prompted onlookers to gather round as the cloud dissipated to reveal two figures facing off against each other, one holding a large horizontal object above his head and the other sprawled on the floor.

Across the street from the restaurant, hidden by the darkness of an alleyway, one onlooker had been frozen in place, mobile phone gripped against her ear as she watched.

"Anzu, Anzu, can you still see them? Is she still with him?" came an indistinct hum from the speaker. "OI, ANZ-!"

By the time her brain did catch up with what she was seeing, she had already ended the call and entered the accumulating throng.

* * *

Izaya rubbed away the blood dribbling down his chin and dragged himself to his feet. He eyed the crowd around him carefully, the smirk on his face becoming sadistically delighted when he found Nene standing at the forefront, gaping at them, fear shining in her eyes.

Was she about to cry? _Wonderful_.

"_Yooooo_, Shizu-chan," he goaded cheerily, rolling to the side as the counter came crashing towards him. It skidded across the concrete and tore a gap through the frightened but awestruck crowd.

With the speed and finesse he'd accumulated over the last three years of running from Shizuo, Izaya dashed forwards, ducking a fist aimed at his face as he did.

"Did you forget about that thing I had to tell you?"

A metallic gleam sliced through the air and blood spurted from the long gash that had appeared across Shizuo's arm.

The blonde let out a pained hiss, then swiftly wrenched up a manhole cover.

"SHUT UP AND JUST DIE!" he roared, hurling it at the shorter male.

Unfortunately for Shizuo, Izaya twisted out of the way and again dashed forwards.

Another metallic flash and spurt of crimson elicited a vicious bellow as he slashed a shallow cut into the blonde's cheek.

"Never mind, I'll tell you anyway," Izaya half laughed. He wiped the bloodied knife against his blazer at such a leisurely pace that all of the spectators sucked in a breath, watching as Shizuo pulled his arm back, hand clenched in a powerful fist, "Uchida Taizo... the man you put in a coma... was innocent."

The fist wavered in its conviction and his eyes narrowed.

"He was in love with Kimi-san."

Shizuo's face turned ashen, anticipating with a sickening lurch what the flea's next words would be.

"Oh and, just before you threw him into a vending machine, he'd been saving her from a bunch of gang members."

* * *

The words splintered her paralysis and reality came rushing back. Without waiting to watch what would happen as Simon flung himself between the two boys, she turned back, terror gripping her heart and began shoving at the resistant crowd barricading her from her destination. Eventually she was able to claw out a path, emerging breathlessly on the other side.

There she spotted Izaya's schoolbag discarded in the debris. She felt dizzy, as though her legs had been liquefied, but in spite of it, ran forwards and picked it up. Turning it upside down, she shook it viciously, watching with frantic eyes as the contents tumbled out onto the pavement until finally his phone landed amongst the broken shards of glass with a crack. Actually finding it was a stroke of pure luck. Almost at all times, did Izaya keep his phone on him, but she supposed that he'd transferred it to his bag for its own protection. Ironically, it had ended up on the street, but such was the folly of his arrogance.

She reached down and snatched it up, a mixture of dread and anticipation churning in her stomach as she dusted the screen off. It was a weightless feeling, like someone was dangling her upside down over a tall building and she was waiting for them to let go.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The voice arrested her before she could begin snooping, and Nene's head shot up.

"Anzu?" she muttered to herself. Nene stared at the girl whose her fists were balled at her sides and whose expression radiated fury as she stormed up to her.

"That's not yours, that's Izaya-kun's. THIEF," she yelled, grabbing at the phone. "STOP! THIEF! SOMEONE HELP!"

Luckily, everyone was still too busy with the fight so no one took notice of the two females wrestling for possession of the phone.

"Give it back you ungrateful bitch!" demanded Anzu, attempting to grab her arm. "Izaya-kun – Is- So good to you and- _this_ is how you repay him!"

Nene jerked out of her reach and staggered back a few paces, but in her panicked state, a misplaced foot resulted in her stumbling backwards and her hand instinctively slammed down on the pavement to balance herself. Pain tore through it on contact. Peeling it off the floor, face twisting up in a grimace, she found small flecks of glass and blood decorating it.

She had no time to recover before Anzu threw herself onto her and began clawing at her hair. Getting hold of a sizeable clump of hair, the manic female tore at it, eliciting a muffled grunt from Nene, who was desperately attempting to shake her loose.

"Let go! Let go! Let _GO_!" shrieked Anzu, punctuating each statement with a violent tug at Nene's hair, her free hand still snapping at the phone hidden away in Nene's unyielding fist..

"You-let-go," grunted Nene.

Seeing that it would be impossible to simply extricate herself from the surprisingly strong girl, Nene changed tactics.

Curling her fingers around buttons of Anzu's shirt and pooling all of her remaining strength, she forcefully wrenched back, ripping open her attacker's shirt. Not giving Anzu a chance to recover from _her _shock, Nene's hand shot out again and this time, she curled it around Anzu's bra.

"Make another move and I'll tear it clean off," Nene said in the darkest tone of voice she could muster, having gained control of both the situation and herself.

Anzu had blanched and fallen still.

"Now let go of my hair."

She did.

Nene slowly rose to her feet and Anzu mirrored her actions perfectly, terrified that one wrong move would result in her being stripped naked on the street.

Pocketing the phone safely away in her skirt, Nene cast her gaze to Izaya's pencil case lying near Anzu's feet.

"Pick the pencil case up... and slowly put it in my hand."

She knelt down alongside her hostage, who extended her arm and groped the ground until she found the object. Slowly, they stood up together and Anzu delicately placed it in Nene's hands. Using one hand to unzip it, Nene rifled around in it until she found what she had been looking for.

A wry smile upturned her lips. Flicking open Izaya's spare switchblade, she pressed the tip to Anzu's throat.

"Throw your phone on the floor," ordered Nene, voice uncharacteristically cold.

She did.

"I'm going to let go. When I do, you will run in the opposite direction until I can't see you," stated Nene.

Anzu jerkily nodded, beginning to wheeze and tear up in hysteria.

The second she released her, Anzu tore off down the street without a backwards glance, her high-pitched whine trailing off into silence as she grew smaller and smaller until she was finally swallowed up by Ikebukuro.

Bending over, Nene scooped up Anzu's phone and put it with Izaya's before replacing his knife and grabbing his wallet for good measure. Tomorrow Anzu would probably tell Izaya that she had taken his phone, but tonight he would merely think some ruffian had taken advantage of the situation to steal from him.

The crowd behind her began to scatter, no longer interested in the fight between Shizuo and Izaya since it seemed to have ended on an anticlimactic note and she trudged back over to where she had been standing. The exhausted young girl saw that Simon had detained Shizuo, while Izaya lay sprawled on the floor, grinning in spite of a swollen cheek and its ugly light purple-blue bruise.

"Fighting is no good, it makes you hungry," exclaimed Simon, struggling to keep Shizuo reeled in.

"Kill, kill, kill, KILL, KILL!" Shizuo chanted viciously, wrenching forwards only to be hauled back like a chained beast. "Get the fuck off me Simon!"

The dizziness was starting to return.

Izaya staggered into an upright position. His ecstatic grin was proving too much for his face to handle and it succumbed to a pleased smirk. It looked as though Shizuo had nearly fractured his jaw.

At that moment, her tousled hair, throbbing skull and bleeding palm screamed in protest at any sympathy she deigned to feel for either of them and all she wanted to do was crawl into a whole and never come out.

But if Simon hadn't intervened... Nene didn't want to imagine what could have happened. It made her heart speed up again and that same panicked feeling bubble white hot in her head.

"I think I'll be taking my leave now Shizu-chan," Izaya said in a singsong voice, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "But before I go... "

He tilted his head to the female who looked to be on the verge of collapsing and pointed his smirk at her, its bitterness vanishing into indifference. Her heart lurched.

Nene's wall had been made of plaster, quickly and haphazardly erected, at first to shield her from him, but soon becoming a means to entice his curiosity. Izaya's wall was built of iron, crafted by a powerful subconscious, its sole purpose to protect the _Bloody Chamber_, which held his _why _and _how_ and even, Nene realised, warm tears spilling out over her cheeks, his _who_.

How could she have been so presumptuous?

"Tell me, Nene-chan," he questioned, teasingly, "is he everything you always dreamed he would be?"

Of course, he still wanted to break her.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I'm not one hundred percent happy with this chapter, mostly because I finished it a while ago with different content with Shizuo and Nene having a 'heart to heart' and then realised that I was just adhering to my mushy side so I had to mix it up a little so its not as anally retentively proof-read as it normally is.

I've tried to reveal more of Nene's inner workings now and I hint at Izaya's complex workings, but its difficult. Writing from so many different perspectives with all these conflicting opinions/observations that the characters have of each other is difficult, so sorry if it comes off confusing. I re-read my chapters all the time, so if I spot any discrepancies I'll change them. No worries though, I won't change anything major without telling you guys. Also... Shizuo's _bloody_ hard to write, I think he's even harder to write than Izaya just because he talks a lot less and he's more straightforward. There's not much of him here, but when I was writing the 'heart to heart' he had a whole big section which I had to keep editing stuff because I made him too OOC and by the time I felt I'd pinned him down, his part seemed irrelevant (tehehehe).

Anyhow, if anything is confusing, don't hesitate to ask! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The seventh is already being worked on ;)


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Hi guys. Long time no see, hahaha... yeah I suck I know, but I assure you **Chapter 8** is on its way. Thank you for all of your reviews, favourites and your alerts! I'm sorry I posted the chapter and took it down, but I didn't like the direction it was going with and so quite a few changes have been made. For those of you who know the plot twists, this is probably very irritating for you and but bear with me. It should catch up in the next chapter. To those of you who have read the first version, I know this is probably a bit late, but don't read the reviews! There are some spoilers._

_Thank you to the anonymous reviewers! I hope you enjoy this chapter._

**Break You**

**Chapter 7**

"_Nene-chan?"_

"_Yes Izaya-san?"_

"_Something's been bugging me about you for quite a while now."_

"_What?"_

"_If you're in love with Shizu-chan, why didn't you give him chocolates on white day, or slip him an anonymous love letter revealing your undying passion."_

"_... Have you ever done that for a girl?"_

"_Hahahahahahahahaha-"_

"_I'll take that as a no then."_

"_-Hahahahahahahahaha. You didn't answer the question."_

"_Technically... nor did you."_

"_Ahh, but I asked my question first."_

"_Sending people anonymous gifts seems pointless. It means you want them to find out later down the line anyway, but instead of telling them upfront you're trying to make them fall in love with your flattery first. It's just stupid and sad."_

"_Hmm someone's given this a lot of thought haven't they? Could it be that secretly you're just jealous of those _sad _people because they receive gifts from their loved ones... or maybe even jealous of the people that send it-"_

"_No way."_

"_-Because you don't even have the courage to tell Shizu-chan how you feel."_

"_Sending someone an anonymous note isn't courageous."_

"_Sign your name then."_

"_I'd rather tell someone to their face."_

"_Haha, let's be realistic, you're _too much_ of a coward to do something like that."_

"_..."_

"_Cat got your tongue."_

"_You laughed at the very idea of doing it for a girl. Why is that?"_

"_Because unlike you, Nene-chan I'm not a coward."_

"_...Just a manipulative bastard."_

"_Ohoh, scary, I think I struck a nerve."_

* * *

Hour hands all around Ikebukuro struck nine. In West Exit Park, an ashen faced young girl leaned up against a water fountain, scrolling through the texts of a phone that did not belong to her. She had read every single obscure, cryptic message several times over, committed them to memory even, yet she could not infer a single shred of useful information. Even though Izaya had temporarily slipped up and left his phone for the picking, he was far too cautious to lower his defences enough to leave an electronic paper trail. Two hours on and all she had to show for her thievery was an aching skull and a newfound appreciation for Izaya's nicknaming process. It didn't take her long to find one of their conversation logs since she was one of the few, amongst Shinra and Shizuo who were without nicknames. Under different circumstances, she may have taken it as compliment.

Even though she hadn't found anything to link them, she could not shake the gut feeling, the kind of fist pounding gut feeling that screamed 'Izaya and Kagone Kenta are connected somehow'. Anyway, the fact that he knew the truth about Taizo was enough to put him under suspicion. Nene could no longer afford to be complacent.

_Izaya's dangerous._

A hiccup startled her and angry at her weakness, she flung the phone to the ground. How had everything become so complicated? She thought, wringing her hair. It was then that the phone at her feet began to vibrate for the umpteenth time that night. The number looked to be of a payphone and Nene would have bet anything that it was Izaya. She cast it a tired look, playing with the idea of crushing it under her foot, before choosing the safer option of switching it off.

No doubt, he would concoct some torturous punishment for her just for stealing his phone. What would he do if she returned it to him maimed?

_Have me killed_.

A nervous yap escaped her lips and she pursed them into a thin, derisive smile that was bordering on manic. Grabbing Anzu's phone, Nene rang one of the only numbers she'd deigned to commit to memory.

"Hello."

"Tou-san... can I come stay with you for a few days?"

There was a weighted pause before her father spoke again.

"Y-yeah, of course. Where are you?"

Nene patiently awaited her father's arrival, a sense of calm overcoming her. She'd stepped out of her distorted present and returned to the protective womb.

Observing them, her parents, was perhaps where it all began, one might even say they were her first case study. Some nights when her father would get home in time for dinner the light of hope would flicker playfully in her mother's eyes, transporting her to the busy overpass where they'd first met surrounded by an autumn so dazzlingly grey. The first time she'd seen him was through the shutters of her favourite camera, glaring indignantly at the cars, unhappy with his place in the world, a pencil-pushing accountant, who at that minute contemplated brilliant rebellion in the form of throwing his briefcase into the traffic. The first time she'd met him was through the eyes of an artist who saw more than there was, so from the very beginning she'd entertained expectations he could never live up to. Two years later, she was postponing her trip around the world because he, the visionary, wanted to get married, start a family, remain in Japan where he could continue working for the talented businessman Toyoshima Hisoka, his future best friend from whom he would later embezzle a large sum of money.

The slamming of a car door reached her ears and she lifted her head from her arms. Sprinting towards her in his familiar long black trench coat was her father, eyebrows pulled together over worried eyes. The mere sight of him was enough to send her reeling into the past and she inhaled sharply, as her mother would every time she opened the door to find him with a bouquet of flowers. He stopped before her, still panting, and awkwardly re-adjusted his attire, unsure whether to hug her or pat her shoulder.

"Hey," greeted Nene. Getting to her feet, she brushed the dirt from her backside and wordlessly walked towards his car.

"I know you don't like it when I ask-" he began, rubbing the back of his neck, glancing anxiously over her dishevelled appearance through his thick square-rimmed glasses.

Her shoulders tensed.

"You're the one that always says, don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," she said, slipping into the back, unaware of who sat in the driver's seat.

"Nene-san."

She faltered, the gravelly tone disrupting her composure. Her eyes flashed nervously to meet his in the rear-view mirror then back to the driver's headrest.

"Shiki-san," Nene greeted meekly.

* * *

While everyone was at school, Nene returned to an empty flat with a heart renewed with lead. There was a disturbing quietude about the place, as if the air did not stir there, as if it did not want to be stirred and Nene's presence was an unwelcome one. Wading across the unhappy living room, into the corridor, in which their rooms had been crammed, Nene was about to push her door open and retrieve her things when something interesting caught her eye.

It was the door to Kimi's bedroom left ajar. Only slightly as if to imply Kimi had left in a rush, for she had always locked it behind her, before today. For the longest time, Nene lingered outside her room, oblivious to her schoolbag slipping off her shoulder, even when it fell to the floor with an obtrusive thump. Then, as if a puppeteer had swooped in and taken control of her limbs, she did the unspeakable; crossed the narrow corridor and slipped into Kimi's room like a wraith.

It wasn't long before her curious eye fell upon a fat envelope tucked secretively and therefore importantly in the shadow between her bed and her dresser. Nene spent the longest time turning the envelope over in her hands, dread gushing in through her ears until she was deafened by its roar. Eventually she ceased turning it over, lifted up its flap, and tipped the contents onto the desk.

"You still haven't told me where you were," Kimi said that afternoon. Sniffing, she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "You could have called and let me know. I was about to file a missing person's report. You know... even _Shizuo_ asked me about you this morning."

With her back turned to her, Nene switched on the kettle and went about preparing some tea.

"Nene-chan, are you listening?" snapped Kimi, crinkling her forehead and scowling at the back of her friend's head. She sniffed again and rubbed her nose.

"I was at Tou-san's," Nene croaked quietly, retrieving a mug from the cabinet.

Kimi folded her arms haughtily over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Izaya and Shizuo nearly destroying Russian Sushi... would it?"

The spoon Nene had used to stir her tea, clanged against the sink's wall, almost immediately followed by the resounding crash of the mug. Kimi found her vocal chords shredded as Nene gripped the counter edge till her knuckles whitened.

"Shouldn't you be heading to work," Nene said flatly.

"Nene-chan..."

With a lump the size of a football in her throat, Kimi watched Nene's still form, deliberating on whether to cross the distance between them and force-feed herself, Toyoshima Kimi, the girl Nene used to respect but no longer did, down her throat. Except Kimi was convinced now more than ever that she tasted sour, like curdled milk mixed with vinegar and that Nene would reflexively puke her back out.

So Kimi stood up and left the flat, and in this rare instance, allowed the door to gently click shut.

Releasing the counter edge, the seventeen year old retrieved a new mug and spoon from the cupboard and resumed making her tea. Normally, she took three heaped teaspoons of sugar in her tea, but that moment the sugar was occupying a plastic bag in an envelope wedged between Kimi's bed and her dresser. Knocking back the bitter drink with a scrunched up face, Nene mentally added the injustice to her growing list of reasons to resent Kimi before going to her room.

A hefty rucksack lay on her bed, and inside it was the aforementioned sugar jar that contained something other than sugar. When she entered, her eyes briefly skated over it, drawn in by a morbid curiosity. Then she remembered all the horrible things that had happened and she had to look away so as not to scream. It oozed implication and yet Nene knew, with a sinking heart that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

That night, she found herself standing on the overpass her parents had met, watching the traffic without anger, but quiet resolve.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to call," Ryo said when he sidled up beside her.

Without a word, she hoisted her now crammed rucksack onto the guardrail.

"There's little over _ yen in there. It's all we have. Take it, and leave me and Kimi-chan alone," she stated quietly, a defeated touch in her eyes.

Ryo's expression turned to bewilderment.

"Your... stuff is in there too, you can check," she told him, stabbing the zip.

Out of curiosity, the young man reached forward, unzipped the bag and peeked inside.

"Sugar...?" he observed, cocking an almost amused eyebrow. "Why would you give me..."

He zipped the bag shut.

"The fuck are you doing carrying that around," he hissed at her. "Are you insane?"

Blinking, dazed as always by Ryo's changeable moods, Nene had to force herself to keep his gaze.

"Is it a deal or-"

Ryo angrily banged the guardrail with his fist and Nene started back, wide-eyed.

"What are you doing with that?"

"I'm trying to pay you off so you'll leave us alone!" exclaimed Nene, feeling the mental tightrope she was walking begin to wobble.

"_Not_ the money," spat Ryo.

Nene's face hardened into an almost unrecognisable expression.

"I found it in Kimi's room, and I'm returning it. I don't want her money back or anything; just-"

"Kimi didn't get that from us," Ryo stated tersely.

"What?"

"Nobuo hasn't seen Kimi for months now. If he had, I would know," explained her companion, carefully gauging Nene's reaction. "She got that from someone else."

"Who?" Nene demanded, perhaps even begged. Her charcoal eyes, usually so stubbornly calm in the face of disaster, like aged rocks unmoved by the surging waves of a storm, brimmed with tears.

Ryo felt his chest tighten at this unexpected display. Automatically, he hooked the bag over his shoulders and extended his hand to Nene.

"Come on," he told her, smiling as honestly as he could afford.

"What?" she croaked, gawking at his hand. "Where?"

"I'll take you to the bank."

In spite of her supposed aversion for Ryo, her hand slipped into his on its own accord.

"Kenta and his men will never bother you or Kimi again. I swear."

Ryo pulled her up and led her away from the overpass, their hands still clasped. As if to show his sincerity, en route to the bank he even returned her mobile phone.

"Um... I hope you don't mind, but I took a few liberties while I had that," he said, throwing a wide, close-eyed grin over his shoulder.

Still somewhat dazed by the turn of events, Nene merely threw a quizzical look his way.

"I may have answered a few calls," he said, smothering a chuckle. "A few of them might have been from your mother."

"What did you say to her?" she asked, surprised at herself for not sounding more annoyed by his confession.

"Your mum isn't that strict is she? I mean... she lets you live with Kimi after all-"

"What did you say?"

By now, they had reached the bank, and Ryo held the door open for her, an impish, wholesome spark in his brown eyes. Eying him warily, she accepted his chivalry and passed through.

"Don't worry, I told her we waited until your sixteenth birthday to consummate our relationship," he commented slyly.

Unable to help herself, Nene let out an inelegant snort of laughter. The behaviour brought to mind a particular associate of hers. Without meaning to, she felt his name spring from her lips.

"You sound just like Izaya."

Nene was in front of him waiting in the queue for the teller so she could not see the blood drain from Ryo's face.

"Izaya? Name sounds familiar," came an airy, manufactured reply.

"I wouldn't be surprised. He has quite the reputation."

"A friend of yours?"

She thought about it carefully while the same wretched sadness she'd felt after the Russian Sushi incident, the one that made her want to cry surfaced in her chest.

"No way in hell," she forced a laugh, the bitterness palpable. After all, what kind of _idiot_ befriends the guy who wants to break her? "Guy's a complete psycho."

He bought her dinner and they spent the remainder of the evening in each other's company, and for the first time since she'd met him, he appeared entirely unburdened of duplicity. Sitting beside him at a sushi bar, she found herself talking to a side of him that made corny, inappropriate jokes, but flushed at the cook's overflowing cleavage; that laughed louder and longer than anyone she knew and uplifted a dreary room with effortless cheer. Without being pressed, Ryo divulged information about his sister who also attended Raijin, his personal life and (for a lengthy portion of the conversation) one of the many girl who had just recently broken his heart, hell he even showed her his tattoo. Before either of them knew it, they were conversing about the most trivial of things with an ease of old friends, an ease Nene would have once associated with Kimi.

"Sometimes I wonder how you're so close to Kimi," Ryo said at one point, putting his chopsticks down and slumping back into his chair with a lazy grin. "Then I remember how you assaulted me and it all makes sense again."

"Well, you weren't exactly all smiles and politeness yourself."

"I let you win, if that's not polite, I don't know what is," scoffed Ryo.

She cocked a sceptical eyebrow. "You didn't let me win. I kicked your butt."

"Ha!" scoffed Ryo, lurching forwards and stabbing his index finger in her direction. "Just remember, any _time_, any _place_."

For a short whiles, Nene felt safe. The irony was not lost on her though. Only yesterday, the thought of Ryo made fresh panic pump through her heart and now...now the thought of him getting on the bus and exiting the stage forever gave way for unexpected disappointment.

In the end, Nene lingered on the side of a near empty street as his bus pulled out; waving briefly to the window that he childishly pressed his face against, before finally expelling the breath she'd been holding since receiving the phone call from the hospital. Turning, she started back towards her home where she was resolved to talk things out with Kimi, and while her shoulders were hunched, a satisfied smile played on her lips. In fact, as she was reaching into her pocket for her keys, she was so dazed with relief that she bumped into someone on the way into the apartment complex.

Who cared though? She thought, catching her bag before it fell off her shoulder. It was finally-

"Nene-chan!"

She froze.

"You're a hard person to find these days," chirped Izaya, smiling sweetly at the young girl who looked as if she'd just been caught with a severed hand in her lunchbox. "But not an impossible one."

"Yeah," she said shakily, searching her surroundings to make sure there were witnesses. There weren't.

He was still in his Raijin uniform, which meant he'd been searching for her since the end of school or worse yet, the second Anzu had told him. Now here he was lurking outside her flat in the cloak of darkness like a goblin. The thought made her feel sick.

"Mmm... well judging by your expression you know why I'm here," said Izaya, leaning forwards so they were nose to nose.

Once upon a time, it wouldn't have fazed her in the least. Today she came a little closer to understanding the plight of all those he had successfully broken.

"Yes."

"I'm curious Nene-chan," he said, his voice black velvet, "Why take it?"

Her lips pursed into an uncomfortable smile.

"You know anything I tell you will just be a lie," she said. "So why bother asking?"

Izaya grinned.

"Because," he breathed excitedly. "I want to know what lie you're going to tell me."

"I saw it on the sidewalk and picked it up so no one would steal it," said Nene, though not as smoothly as she intended.

Izaya sighed in disappointment, shaking his head. "I was expecting something more inventive."

Shrugging, Nene tried to sidestep him and walk round, only to have him sidestep with her and block her.

"_Ah,_ running off so quickly?" Izaya exclaimed mockingly, leering down at her with that unsettling smile of his. "I thought that we could catch up... as _good_ friends do."

"Don't do that," Nene said in a small voice.

As if in slow motion, his pale hand came up with the intention of tenderly cupping her cheek, of making her doubt her earlier conviction to see him as an enemy. Doing the only thing she could at that point, Nene took a step back and ducked out of his reach. Unfortunately, she miscalculated where the pavement finished and ended up lurching awkwardly to the side. A bark of laughter escaped Izaya, and Nene's head shot up only to see mirth, cruel glee in his eyes. In that instance, she was able to witness how she looked in them. Pathetic, insignificant, a doll to play house with, and she'd happily bent over because she'd thought...

Suddenly he grabbed her arm and tugged her against him, pressing his lips against her ear like a lover's kiss and whispered. Seconds passed and Nene stood there as if suspended in time, just listening to his words, unaware of the world around her, because, instead of dissolving, it had splintered. Like glass cracking or a smashed mirror, his words irreparably altered her perception.

"_HEY!_"

The two teenagers switched their gazes to look up at the origin of the noise. Above them, Kimi leant over the guardrail outside their apartment and glared at the pair of them as if she'd just found her husband in bed with another woman.

"Get the fuck away from her!" she shouted.

Eyebrows knitted together as if in frustration, a scowl curiously marring his features, Izaya released the trembling Nene and lifted his head to smirk at Kimi.

"Do you think she doesn't see right through you?" spat Kimi. "I swear, if you _ever_ go near her again, I'll-"

"_Scary_," exclaimed Izaya with an exaggerated shudder. Smirking, he glanced at Nene. His next words sent a chill through her soul. "I'll see you soon Nene-chan."

Before either of them could react, Izaya had spun round and skipped out of sight.

Still shaking, Nene made her way up the stairs and followed Kimi inside. The sun had set hours ago so Nene, who was growing steadily more unnerved by the darkness, quickly set her bag down by the door, drew the curtains over the windows and switched on the light. She watched as if entranced; it flickered for an entire minute before energising completely only to spill a scanty portion of yellow over the furnishings. It was enough.

Kimi had crashed into the purple beanie bag chair and Nene walked over to the fridge and poured them both glasses of water.

"I know everything," muttered Nene handing one to her.

Kimi was uncomfortably silent and simply stared at the glass while Nene expressionlessly revealed what she knew, voice hollow, eyes trained on a spot above Kimi's head. When she was finished, Kimi placed the glass carefully on the floor.

"How?"

"Does it matter?"

"Unbelievable," Kimi exclaimed in disbelief, glaring fiercely at Nene. "You're still _defending_ that bastard."

The other girl's brow furrowed in confusion. "Who?" she asked, certain that she'd not alluded to Ryo.

"_Izaya_, _Izaya, Izaya,_" Kimi groaned mockingly, shooting up. "I mean I _suspected_ you were a little fucked up when you started liking Raijin's very own monster, but creaming yourself over Izaya? _Clearly_ I'm not the only one here with issues_._"

The taller girl only stood there. Kimi's grin faltered, but when an addict sunk their teeth into something, they'd suck it bone-dry and then keep on sucking.

"Say something then!" snapped Kimi. The tip of her nose had turned an angry red and she scratched at it until stark abrasions lined her pale face. "I'm sure you've been dying to lecture me about all the terrible things from all the way up on your pedestal. Come on Nene-_chan_; tell me how badly I've fucked up. Tell me that we're living in this hole because of me. Forget that it was my money that's been covering your ass this whole time, just blame _everything on me... _

"That's enough," Nene said darkly, her face contorting in disgust so she no longer resembled the cool and unaffected person she was meant to be.

"This is what you've been waiting for isn't it, Nene," spat Kimi, haughtily crossing her arms over her chest. "Here's your chance. Let it _all_ out."

"What do you want me to say?" Nene angrily demanded, fixing Kimi with a glare. "_Oh no Kimi-chan, it's okay, it's not your fault?_ It IS your fault. You've never thought about the consequences of your selfish actions and now it's finally caught up with you. You've done it this time Kimi, you've fucked up."

Nene's chest was rising and falling rapidly now and the grip on her glass had caused it to crack through the middle. "Not only have you put yourself in danger but you've put me Shizuo Taizo and God knows who else in danger too."

Unable to meet the eyes glaring at her with open resentment, Kimi averted her gaze to the floor and said in a trembling voice, "None of you were meant to get involved-"

"And it was your responsibility to make sure we didn't," Nene bit scathingly. "...A man could lose his life, Shizuo could become a murderer and you're too busy worried about getting your next fix."

Kimi was too stunned to speak. Since before she could remember, Nene had always been the sensible one, the logical one, the one people—no, the one Kimi could rely on to see things clearly without letting go of her emotions. That was why Nene and Kimi had always worked so well together.

"You have no idea how much I've hated you!" Nene said coldly, matter-of-factly. "You're my best friend and I've spent the last few weeks hating you."

Kimi sunk into the beanbag, holding her head in her hands while Nene turned her head away as if she couldn't bear to look at her . Had, past tense, not anymore. Yin and yang had turned into oil and water.

A tense silence settled over the two friends as they both contemplated the harsh words that had just transpired, perhaps in awe of what venom had sprouted from the months of repression. It was when the glass slipped from Nene's hand and fell to the ground with a dead thump, that Nene came out of her trance.

"He was right," she muttered bitterly to herself. "I'm a coward."

The realisation spurred her into action and before Kimi could awake from her own stupor, Nene had already crossed the living room to the front door.

"Wait," Kimi cried out, sudden panic flooding her. "Wait, I'm sorry, just don't leave yet. We need to talk about this."

"No, I need to _fix_ this," Nene grit out, hoisting her rucksack onto her shoulder and grabbing the door handle.

"But what about us, clearly there's something wrong with us!" Kimi demanded almost hysterically, her words cracking as she fought back the urge to cry. For the first time in her life, she was presented with the very real possibility that she could lose her best friend and she couldn't move, petrified by the resolution in Nene's black eyes, unable to stop her from sealing their fates.

"FIX US!" Kimi called just as the door slammed shut on Nene's back.

* * *

Turning over in his bed Izaya slammed his palm down on the alarm clock that had been going off since eight o'clock that morning.

"What do you want?" he muttered, glaring at his little sisters through sleepy eyes.

Mairu's teeth shone sinisterly as she towered above him while Kururi sat at the edge of the bed cradling something in her arms. Raking his fingers over his face, Izaya forced himself into an upright position, not bothering to conceal his irritation at their presence.

"...Mail... Big" [You received a package] said Kururi, lifting it up and displaying it shyly to her older brother, who merely surveyed it with an exaggerated amount of disinterest.

"It was in the mailbox this morning Iza-nii!"

Grabbing it from her hands, he casually flung it across the room with a fox like grin. As if he would ever open anything he'd received from twins. He'd rather put his life in Shizuo's hands.

"What was _that_ for?" Mairu exclaimed in surprise, contorting her features to appear horrified, though in reality they were both far too used to him by now to be fazed. "What if it was a present from an admirer?"

"...Akiyama...gift...Iza-nii?" [What about his girlfriend?]

Excitement lit up Mairu's eyes.

"Maybe it was from Akiyama-san," she suggested hopefully, retrieving the now slightly bent cardboard box and placing it back in Izaya's lap.

A bitter smirk appeared on Izaya's lips as he recognised the handwriting scrawled angrily across the front in thick black marker ink. An idea of what it was already in his mind, he snatched his switchblade from beneath his pillow and began slicing the tape away. Poor little frightened Nene, returning his phone to him via post so she wouldn't have to face his wrath; the thought made him want to explode with laughter there and then, but he decided to postpone it till the grand reveal.

Without further ado, he opened up the box. A short note lay at the top written in the same black marker pen:

_Underneath is my first step away from cowardice. Be proud that you were my inspiration_

The twins peered curiously into the box as Izaya removed the note to show what was hidden beneath.

"I don't think Iza-nii has a girlfriend anymore," Mairu commented airily, bouncing towards the door, followed closely by her twin.

"Sad... shame." [Iza-nii seems upset]

"How can you tell?"

"Just."

* * *

At the same time, in another part of town, after catching sight of something through the window, Shizuo almost ripped the front door off its hinges trying to get to it. There, leaning against the alcove wall, knees pulled up to her chest, snoring softly and nought but a thick winter coat and the porch roof to shelter her, was Nene.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Ooooh... cliffhanger... sort of. Nene's most important relationships are starting to crumble but it seems there are some new ones on the horizon.

Okay, so I'd like to address a few things.

I was going to introduce Nene's father and step mother in the first version but decided against it because what I wrote didn't see to move the plot along at all, and then when I was re-doing it, I thought, hey this is a perfect time to subtly introduce the future storylines. For those who don't know, Shiki is part of the Yakuza is briefly in the anime and prominently featuring in the book. Also, I'm unhappy with Nene and Kimi's argument at the end so I'll probably change that soon. Lastly... I am _so_ sorry that Shizuo's been absent this chapter (until just now) but I guess I realised too late that in this particular storyline Shizuo comes into it more at the end than in the middle, but I hope you can all forgive me, lots of him in the coming chapters. He'll be the main focal point for everything pretty much. Lots of smexy Shizuo to come ;) My play on words is hil-aaar-ious don't you agree?

Anyway, I'll see you VERY soon with **Chapter 8** promise. If I don't, feel free to spam my inbox until I do so.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thank you for all of your support, your reviews, favourites and alerts (and the occasional pm ;D)! See the bottom for more information on the future of the updates :) Sorry, the beginning may be familiar to some, but bear with it, 'tis slightly different. __This was definitely quicker than the last update. _

**Break You**

**Chapter 8**

_You must have wondered what makes you so interesting hmm Nene-chan? Well today's your lucky day. Don't flatter yourself, it's not your _skills_ in observation or that you're in love with a monster or even your complete and _utter _cowardice. No it's so much sweeter. It's the fact that deep down you and I both know that y__ou're just like me._

* * *

A pale weekend sun hung over Ikebukuro, just awoken from a dream and oblivious to the impending nightmares while someone figuring themselves a God plotted something unthinkable.

Teetering off the edge of a rooftop, arms hooked over the iron rail to serve as an anchor, Izaya peered below at the city, feeling exhilarated as he surveyed the flow of humans. As he watched them converge unto one another then branch out again on their own solitary paths through life, he was reminded of the human body's arteries, veins and organs intricately connected, useless without their blood cells.

The clank of the roof door sounded and a tall man with a stern expression strode over. Spryly leaping over the guardrail, Izaya met him in the middle with a flourishing a bow.

"Good morning Kenta-san."

"Izaya," said Kenta, nodding curtly. "Didn't know you were working out of a payphone, now?"

"My phone's out of commission," was Izaya's only explanation.

"I was starting to think I was never going to find my guy."

"Ah, but before I tell you everything, I'd like to know what your plans are."

"You don't already?" said Kenta, flashing him a tight, fleeting grin.

Desperation was making Kenta sloppy, or maybe it was that infamous pride of his.

"Humour me," said Izaya, that molten smirk of his stifling the air.

The older man rolled his eyes. "Break his neck."

Izaya shook his head.

"You can't take such a barbaric approach to a bigger barbarian, Kenta-san," explained Izaya, as if he were talking to a child. "If you underestimate Shizu-chan, you might end up in the hospital like your friend, and then who would provide for your sister."

"Didn't I tell you never to talk about her Izaya."

"You misunderstand me, I'm merely concerned. Shizu-chan is unbelievably dangerous. Going up against him five to one, even a hundred to one, would be a foolish move. Even for you."

Izaya let his words sink in as he sauntered over to an air vent and climbed onto it. Arms outstretched for better balance, he began walking along the edge on tiptoe, humming softly.

"You're talking about that Raijin kid, Heiwajima Shizuo?"

"What makes you say that?" said Izaya, smirking wickedly.

"Oh, I don't know, Shizu-chan is such a subtle nickname after all," said Kenta, the vein in his neck pulsing. "Kid does have a reputation, but it's the first time we've had any trouble from him."

"And now you'll say something heroic like 'And the last'," Izaya said with a polite level of ridicule.

"They say he's the incarnation of violence, some kind of monster, but I'd always figured that was just a ghost story they told kids to frighten them straight."

"He's very real."

Izaya hopped back down to his client's level, facing him with a cold, indecipherable smile.

Kenta had never liked the boy, only tolerating him because of his undeniable prowess for getting information. Then there was his foolish little sister. He hoped she would come to her senses soon and stop following him around like a senseless puppy, but for the moment, he needed only to worry about Heiwajima Shizuo.

"Fine, I'll bite. How should I deal with this guy?"

"It's going to require that you have a little patience Kenta-san."

The tense smirk on his face looked like it belonged to a hungry pit-bull. "How much is a little?"

"A couple of months-"

"A COUPLE OF MONTHS?"

Izaya winced and made a show of tellingly rubbing his ear.

"Let's be realistic now Kenta-san, you have one of two options. You either charge in now and get yourself and probably all of your friends killed, or you listen to me and put those two wasted years at Tokyo University to use for something other than doping up young children."

Kenta's eyes narrowed. "I erased those records."

The indecipherable smile turned phlegmatic as Kenta's slow wits began to wear on his nerves. Then realisation flashed in Kenta's eyes.

"_Anzu told you_," snarled Kenta, practically foaming at the mouth.

"Please don't jump to any conclusions," Izaya said, feigning an almost believable look of offence. "I didn't do any of the things that are currently running through your mind; I'm a lot less insidious than you think. However, it's no secret that your sister resents you. Sometimes she just needs a shoulder to cry on."

"And you've always got one spare."

Izaya gave a non-committal shrug and the urge to gnash his teeth at him rose up in the brother.

"What else did she tell you?"

"Don't worry, nothing incriminating, at least nothing more incriminating than what you do now."

How Kenta wished he could wipe the smirk off Izaya's face with his fist. Unfortunately, the young boy was slippery, difficult to land even a punch on and and for all intents and purposes, Izaya was right. Kenta was going to have to be patient if he wanted to get his way. Izaya could be dealt with afterwards.

"This better be good you snake," Kenta threatened, "because if this fucks up I don't care what you know about me, I will hold you personally responsible and unlike Heiwajima Shizuo you are far from indestructible."

Keeping up even an air of respectfulness was becoming extremely taxing in the face of such a tempestuous human, but Izaya would stomach it. This was only a means to a very satisfying end after all.

"Whatever you say Kenta-san."

* * *

It would be his birthday soon; maybe she should bake him a cake.

What a strange thing to remember at a time like this, thought Nene as she and Shizuo sat on a park bench facing an icy pond. Things hadn't really developed between them like she had hoped. Even today, cocooned by dawn's early layer of fog, they remained in reticence.

Nene had just told Shizuo everything, or at least everything she could afford to without compromising his safety. No names just the facts, enough to guard him from anything Kenta or Izaya decided to throw at him. She had decided to after taking a meat tenderiser (courtesy of Russian Sushi) to Izaya's phone and mailing it to him in pieces. Once the adrenaline had fizzled out, she realised what a colossally thick move that had been and turned tail and ran back the seven blocks in a desperate attempt to retrieve the package before Izaya could see it. As she'd skidded to a halt and ducked beneath his mother's hydrangeas, wheezing like one of her lungs had collapsed, all she could do was watch as the door fell against Mairu's slight figure, package in tow, effectively signing her death warrant.

"So you've been keeping this from me this whole time." said Shizuo, staring ahead at the pond.

The tone of his voice made her stiffen. It was underlined with subtext and so unlike Shizuo. Could he be angry that she'd waited this long? Worse, did he feel betrayed?

She couldn't tell him that she had just poked the bear in the eye with a sharp stick and it was about to reap bloody vengeance on all of her loved ones leaving her with the only option she had left, which was to warn him. No, she couldn't say that. Then he'd know the kind of person she truly was.

"Kimi didn't want to burden you with the guilt-"

"Don't bullshit me."

"...You needed to know," she muttered in a defeated voice.

It was more a half-truth than a lie.

"That's bullshit."

Nene pressed her lips together. "There's also a good chance that they might come after you-"

The cigarette dropped to the floor.

"Is Izaya involved?"

"What? No, I don't know... I don't think so-"

"You're lying," said Shizuo, quietly menacing as the cigarette was crushed beneath his foot.

All of a sudden, the world was a mashed up kaleidoscope of colours. Nene was on her feet before she knew how she'd got there, bowing clumsily, praying her hair hid the expression of obvious guilt slapped on her face. With blazing cheeks, she scurried away like an insect, clutching her stomach as if someone had just ripped it open with its teeth. She didn't get far though, yanked back seconds later in a motion similar to the snap of an elastic band.

Shizuo gripped her arm with an unaffected air, proving immovable as she gave a few half-hearted attempts to free herself. He'd somehow managed to light up another cigarette in the time between her fleeing and his apprehending her. When she stopped struggling, he let her go.

"...I don't get you," he muttered more to himself. "I don't get why you protect him."

Vision blurry, Nene stared at the floor, wishing she could just slip through the wiggling waves of concrete.

"Fine just tell me, is Izaya involved or not?"

She didn't answer.

"Ah...come on, stop crying."

Her brow furrowed as she realised she was indeed crying. Before she could wipe her face with her sleeve, Shizuo was handing her a handkerchief.

"These are dangerous people Shizuo-san," said Nene, inwardly cringing at the frailty in her voice. "They might have guns; they might even be involved with the yakuza."

What she really wanted to say was that they could be involved with Izaya, but she figured he already knew that.

"Yep, this stinks of the flea." She could see the rage sinking its acid tipped teeth into him. "Fuck it, I'm just gonna have to kill him-"

"_No_!"

Shizuo's rage was briefly suspended. When she wanted to, he was suddenly very aware that she could gather a fierce amount of intensity into her dark eyes.

"It's my fault."

Shizuo cocked an eyebrow.

"It's my fault he wants revenge. While you and Izaya were tearing up Russian Sushi, I took his phone thinking it might help get to the bottom things, but it was just another dead end. Long story short, yesterday he pissed me off so this morning I mailed it back to him in pieces."

Her body tensed. Now he would see the kind of person she really was and he would hate her, just like he hated Izaya, because Izaya had been right, she was just like him.

So when a satisfied smile curled Shizuo's lips, the already unbalanced Nene struggled to stay standing.

"Aren't you angry?"

Shizuo stopped smiling and furrowed his brow. "For busting that good for nothing piece of garbage's phone?"

"And for putting you in danger, for lying to you, for being just like Izaya-"

"Just like Izaya?" he echoed coolly.

A sad disfigured smile marred her lips. "I mailed him the remains of his 'baby', if that doesn't say Izaya then-"

She yelped as Shizuo wrenched her up by her collar, almost picking her off the ground.

"You are nothing like Izaya, do you understand?" he said coolly, brown eyes terrifyingly severe.

Unable to follow his logic, confusion turned to anger and Nene found herself shouting her next words. "Five seconds ago you thought I was covering for him-"

"BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON YOU CARE ABOUT ASSHOLES!"

What should have been the awkward intrusion of personal space was negated by the strange enchantment holding their gazes. Somehow, her bewilderment had managed to seize his rage by the horns. His fingers slipped from around her shirt and she fell crookedly onto the balls of her feet. Shizuo's breath smelt strongly of cigarettes but his body had a strange earthy scent. Nene smelt like rain and sweat subtly mingled with raspberries.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned up, angling her head ever so slightly, her lips parting. Several moments passed as nothing happened and with sickening realisation, her eyes snapped back open and she stepped back. Shizuo's hands were shoved into his pockets in the typical style of a frustrated teenager and he'd cocked his head in the opposite direction.

The silence resonated with the dizzying vibrations of a gong, draining her of all sensation until even tears of rejection were too difficult to muster up. She met his silence with the scuffs of her feet as she turned and trudged away, a limp fish that had been dragged into the sun.

As Shizuo listened to her footfalls, his scowl remained unfaltering and he clenched his fists inside his pockets. But as the sounds faded into the fog, so did the harsh lines of his brow. He was fighting the impulse to go after her. After all, why fight to prolong the inevitable, he thought bitterly. Turning, he started walking in another direction, towards the home of a headless rider who was always ready to lend an ear to his troubles. It was also home to an aspiring doctor who had a penchant for getting on his nerves and unfortunately, the one who answered the door when Shizuo rang the bell half an hour later.

"Shizuo-kun," said Shinra, a little surprised to see him there so early in the morning.

"Hey, is Celty home?" asked Shizuo, cutting straight to the chase.

"Ahah, I knew this day would come eventually," exclaimed the eccentric student, straightening his posture as if to appear formidable.

"Huh?"

"You wish to challenge me for my beloved Celty's hand, well I accept-BWAH!"

Not having the patience to endure the idiot's babbling any longer, Shizuo had simply slammed the door shut on his own face. As he was walking towards the elevator, the vein in his forehead still throbbing, the door flew back open and out stormed Celty with Shinra attached to one of her legs.

"Celty where are you going?" he whined as he was dragged across the floor. "You can't choose Shizuo over me, at least not until you've had a chance to see me defend our love!"

Shoving her PDA, which read [Stop making a scene Shinra], into the bespectacled boys face, the shadows swirling around her leg suddenly bloated and violently catapulted Shinra back into the apartment. At this point, Shizuo leant against the elevator wall, holding the button to keep the doors open as he waited for Celty.

[Sorry about that]

"No problem."

The two watched disinterestedly as Shinra leapt towards them crying out Celty's name, only to collide headfirst into the elevator doors as they slid shut, leaving an impressive dent in his wake. As the lift descended, Celty grew worried that he may have hurt himself in his foolhardy endeavours.

[I hope he's okay]

"He can practise being a doctor on himself for once," said Shizuo, smirking a little. "Besides it's his own fault for being dumb enough to think I was trying to steal you from him or whatever."

The smoke pluming from her neck flared angrily at the thought and all worry evaporated.

[What's on your mind?]

The veins in Shizuo's forehead started to throb again as he remembered the reason.

"It's Izaya."

They ended up wandering aimlessly around the courtyard for a while, Shizuo unloading himself to Celty. Occasionally, when something really annoying would come up, he'd work himself into rage and nearly uproot a tree, but Celty's presence had the same effect as blowing on the surface of a hot cup of tea and no serious damage came to the building.

"I should snap Izaya's neck in two, damn it, he's asking for it but... fuck I don't know."

He read the screen she'd offered him and stiffened.

[It will hurt your friend, Nene]

It seemed she and Shinra shared some similarities after all. They both knew how to cut down to the bone.

Shizuo sighed, the crease lines on his forehead smoothing. "Nene's not important."

[But isn't she the reason Izaya's trying to hurt you]

"...How do you figure?"

"I think I understand what Celty-chan is getting at."

Shizuo zipped round.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he muttered, searching for the owner of the disembodied voice

[I-Is it Aliens?] The Dullahan typed shakily, her shoulders trembling.

The bush behind them sprung to life, arms, legs and finally a familiar head sprouting from it; Shinra's head.

"Ah, that's better," said Shinra, smiling cheerfully. "You see Shizuo-kun, Izaya is obviously trying to hurt Nene-san by hurting the people she loves."

[Were you spying on us?]

Shinra let out a glittery laugh.

"Don't be silly Celty, I was doing an experiment."

"The one where you spy on people," Shizuo stated in a deadpan, cracking his knuckles.

"Are we all just going to ignore what I just said?" Shinra babbled frantically, starting to sweat as he backed away from Shizuo.

"Yes."

[You really need to stop being so creepy Shinra]

The next thing he knew he was being strung up in a tree by his ankles, Celty's shadows acting as the ropes while Shizuo's impressive strength served as the slingshot. Everyone could agree it was a team effort.

"Ahh, w-wait a second," the wannabe doctor anxiously called to Shizuo's retreating back. "Don't you want to hear what else I have to say?"

"...Nah."

"Well I'll say it anyway!" shouted Shinra, flailing against his binds. "For some reason (probably a side effect of antipsychotics), Akiyama-san genuinely cares about you so don't blame her for wanting to protect you. It's just like how you look out for Kasuka or I look out for Celty, so Shizuo-kun for once, do yourself a favour and don't-"

Good old Shinra. Even though he was dangling upside down, the blood rushing to his head, he'd still managed to spurt out a few sage words of advice before passing out.

* * *

The weekend faded out without incidence and in Nene and Kimi's case, without speaking. When Nene had come back from seeing Shizuo, she had stood in the doorway like a wilted rose. Kimi had intended to force Nene into some kind of confrontation, but once she'd seen her glazed over expression she was struck mute. The rucksack landed on the floor with a dead thud and Nene disappeared into her room for the next two days, only surfacing for meals or the bathroom, always wearing the same confused expression, like an amnesiac who could feel her memories dancing at the tip of her tongue but for the life of her, could not reach them.

Now Monday had rolled in and the bell was ringing for lunch. Nene trudged towards the canteen in a daze that had hushed the world around her, made her blind to the tiny nuances that normally thrilled her senses. She trudged right past Isamu as he angrily punched a locker after finding out his girlfriend had cheated on him, past the familiar Raijin student and the girl he loved smiling shyly at each other, and upon entering the canteen past Anzu and her friends as they fixed her with a soul-searing glare.

She paid for her lunch, a bowl of ramen, a bottle of water, no dessert and took a seat at her usual table with Shin, Kadota Kyohei and a girl she didn't recognise.

"Yo Nene, long time no see," greeted Shin, grinning cheerfully at her.

"Hey."

Kadota nodded at her, his gaze lingering on her countenance longer than usual.

"We thought Izaya had had you killed," said Shin, clapping her gruffly on the back.

A fleeting smile touched Nene's lips before she blew on her fork full of ramen.

"Oh yes, that's right, you're friends with that scum fuck," said the girl. "My deepest condolences."

Nene glanced over at the foreign addition to their group and was nearly blinded by her platinum blonde hair. She had foregone the blue Raijin uniform for a black, figure hugging dress that bordered on Lolita style, wore fingerless leather gloves on her hand and a gaudy oversized ring on her middle finger. Even with Nene's analytical skills playing up, she was easily able to see that this girl was rebelling against something. Something serious and very recent, thought Nene, since she definitely would have remembered someone who dressed so... eccentrically.

"Oh yeah, you two are in the same year aren't you?" said Shin.

"Yes, but I don't think we've formally met," said the girl, extending a gloved hand over the table and shaking Nene's. "Jun."

"Nene."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Nene-san, my advice to you, take it or not, is to get as far away as possible from Orihara," said Jun.

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind."

"I don't think you understand-"

"I do, thank you."

Something was amiss, thought Kadota as he observed the girls' conversation. There was an unsettling absence of emotion in Nene's voice.

"Nene, did something happen- Ah, hey Shizuo," said Kadota, nodding at the blonde haired giant as he approached their table. "It's your birthday today right?"

"Yeah."

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks."

The colour drained from Nene's face. Placing her bowl to her lips, she tilted her head back and drank it down, wincing as it burned her insides. Before anyone could react, she'd polished off all traces, hooked her bag over her shoulder and hurried out of there with barely a 'Just remembered, gotta do something'. Seconds later, her back was pressed safely against the inner wall of the first floor stairwell and the blood was starting to return to her cheeks.

She hated herself. What had come over her? the conscious demanded of her subconscious. But it was simple. Cowardly Nene had seen his face, remembered the way he'd turned away in disgust and Cowardly Nene had high-tailed it out of there. She knew it was impossible to keep carrying on like this. If she didn't try to bolster the cracks, it wouldn't be long until the plaster wall crumbled under the pressure. Any second now, she thought, inhaling deeply, any second now she would flick the switch and be Akiyama Nene again, a sea void of ripples.

A sharp breath sliced from her lips. When had serenity become so unattainable?

"They say counting to ten helps. Personally I think its bullshit."

Nene froze.

Shizuo was standing a little off to the side watching her.

"You okay?" But before she could even contemplate an answer, he added a gruff, "Don't lie."

With that in mind, she looked away and kept her mouth shut. Not in a million years had she ever though that she would want Heiwajima Shizuo to leave her alone, but here they were.

"If it makes you feel better, I've decided not to kill the flea," said Shizuo, visibly unhappy with that decision. Her eyes drifted back over to his. "Not unless he asks for it."

Izaya's always asking for it, thought Nene, but instead she settled on the more general "Why?"

He shrugged. "It'll be bad for you if I beat him up, plus I owe you for breaking your arm-"

"Spraining."

"-Whatever... anyway for now I won't touch him."

"...Thank you."

But Shizuo had already started walking away, muttering to himself.

"Dad was right, women are troublesome."

Nene blinked, not sure if she'd heard him correctly. Either way, he was gone now so it was too late to ask. It was also too late to wish him a happy birthday, or to bake him a cake. She probably would have burnt it anyway. She was a piss-poor cook.

The seventeen-year-old sighed, eyes fluttering and kicked off the wall, stalking off to god knows where. She still had an hour to kill before lunch was over, maybe she could go see if there were anymore after school clubs she could join. She'd heard that a few positions had opened up on the school paper and she'd always wanted to try her hand at journalism. That's when her stomach let out a low whine and she folded over. It seemed the scorching one-gulp ramen had disagreed with her. As if things weren't bad enough.

"That's her nii-san, that's the bitch that stole my phone!"

Hand propped against the wall for support, Nene looked back. She was unsurprised to see Anzu, flanked by two others at the other end of the corridor, each with their hands on their hips and wearing a uniform smirk, as if they were merely life-size cut outs of paper chain people. Then Nene's eyes zoned in on another figure hanging back from the group and her eyebrows shot up into the air in bewilderment.

_... Ryo?_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Finished my first year of Uni! Now I await results :( Anyway, though I'm off for 3 months, it doesn't mean frequent updates :( I'll have a lot of secondary reading to do and I have to get ready to move into my flat. It sucks, I know, but my plan (after Chapter 9) is to basically write up the remaining chapters of this storyline in one go and then update them at weekly intervals. Then I'll take a hiatus, plan the next storyline and start writing that up.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading and being so supportive.


	9. Chapter 9

_****__Special 3 Chapter Update! _

_A/N: I am so sorry for how long it's taken for me to update! The only way I could think to legitimately repay you guys is to update with three chapters. I hope you guys like the chapter. This is the only chapter beta read, so the next two will probably be replaced in the near future, but doubtfully with major changes. Thank you for all of your amazing support, the favourites, alerts and pms._

**Break You**

**Chapter 9**

When Anzu first told him about her phone getting stolen, Ryo quite promptly told her to fuck off. After his meeting with Izaya however, he was willing to take up any excuse to come on to school grounds. Not that he had had any intention of beating down some punk for nicking her phone, but maybe he'd be able to catch a glimpse of the infamous Heiwajima Shizuo.

Yes, Izaya had said Shizuo was off-limits, at least for now, and yes, it would take monk-like self-control to restrain himself were they to actually meet. But he was easily tempted, the kind of person who took the forbidden fruit before the snake had even a chance to make its case.

So, under the guise of brotherly concern, he offered his services to his sister. He never would have guessed that it was Nene who had stolen Anzu's phone, or how he'd feel seeing her again.

There was something about Nene that he liked. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't look at him like scum the way everyone else did. That people like her still existed in this world, who lived in the light but didn't shrink away from the shadows, gave him hope.

Last time he had seen her was through the rear window of a departing bus. She had been smiling and he had come away thinking that for once, perhaps he had done some good. Today, however, there was a different expression on her face, like she wasn't quite present in this spatial dimension.

"If you wanted to see me so badly, you could have just called," Ryo said, grinning.

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest and Ryo got the strange feeling that if he were to blow, she would tumble and disappear into the wind.

"I had no idea she was your sister. Half-siblings?"

"Perceptive. Yeah, we share the same deadbeat mother."

They both glanced at Anzu standing on the other side of the hallway trying to burn holes into her traitorous brother's back. Though it was no secret that Anzu didn't like him, she was aware that Ryo was a somebody, a somebody that mingled with the lower echelon of society, but a somebody nevertheless. To her, that meant she could use him as she pleased, even to bully her schoolmates. Understandably, she was far from pleased when he started shooting the breeze with Akiyama Nene, her self-appointed arch nemesis.

"So this is what you meant when you said strained relationship."

"Yeah, I'm not her favourite person."

"Well, she's not anyone's favourite person, so I guess that makes you even."

"Oi, she's still my sister," said Ryo, though the warning fell flat against his amused smile. "So, back to the matter at hand. For what reason did you steal her phone?"

"You of all people can't really judge."

Ryo opened his mouth to argue, but they both knew he didn't have a leg to stand on. "Okay, but humour me, I'm still curious."

Nene tapped her nose with a secretive smile. Then, reaching into her shoulder bag, she retrieved a pink phone with more glitter than the gay pride parade, and passed it to Ryo. They both stared down at it with looks of disgust.

"Seriously… why would anyone want to steal this? Is it because it has a jewelled heart? Please… explain to me what made you think hey, I need this… this bright pink monstrosity, and not just to bash my brains in."

Nene laughed softly; it was clear that she had no intention of answering. Sighing exaggeratedly, he thrust his hands into his pockets.

"Guess I better return this to her before she scalps you."

She nodded. "Thanks Ryo."

As she turned to leave, Ryo taken by impulse, grabbed her arm. Shock rearranged her features as she turned questioningly back to him .

Finding her on the overpass staring at the stand-still traffic had been a profound moment for him. A dim spark had been in her eyes. He remembered how her face had been contorted in a rare display of feeling, of bitterness and conceit, how strands of hair unwoven by the wind stuck up around her face like torn flower petals. She had been unreachable, her entire existence jarring against reality as she attempted to take on the whole world by herself.

Ever since that day, the image of that singular moment had been entrenched in his mind, and now another joined it the archive. An image of a girl stripped of bitterness and conceit, of a girl who had taken on the whole world by herself and discovered that the world didn't much give a damn who she was or what she was about and quite promptly swatted her away like a fly.

"Are you okay?" he asked with such tenderness in his voice that he surprised even himself.

She laughed. "You really are a dramatic guy, Ryo."

Then her back was disappearing round a corner while he tried to figure out if it had been a trick of the light or if tears had been glistening in her eyes.

Anger overtook concern as soon as it came. He turned in the opposite direction and marched off, tossing the phone to Anzu without breaking stride. He didn't have time for this. He had almost forgotten why he was there in the first place, to get a glimpse of the guy who had put his best friend in a coma.

_What happened last time Ryo?_ He asked himself, his thoughts being dragged back to Nene. _What happened last time you tried to be all white knight and rescue the damsel in distress? You landed yourself in jail, that's what happened._ _Men like you aren't built for heroism. Men like you are built for back alley exchanges and shitty tattoos._

Nene could take care of herself, and even if she couldn't, she wasn't his sister. She wasn't his problem. Heiwajima Shizuo. Orihara Izaya. Uchida Taizo. They were his problem.

After about ten minutes of aimless rambling, he regretted not asking Anzu to point Shizuo out to him. Now, he was standing in some random hallway on some random floor, no closer to his original goal.

Cursing Nene's existence, he angrily kicked a locker, gave up, and went home, which was probably for the best. If he had stayed in that corridor a minute longer, Orihara Izaya would have turned the corner, and that would have been awkward.

* * *

A thin bronze bracelet hung from Izaya's fingers swinging to and fro as he moved unhurriedly between the lockers.

The ball had started rolling now, a snowball specifically. It was tumbling down the side of a mountain, getting bigger and bigger, levelling everything in its path as it travelled towards its destination. Those who got in its way would be crushed, or worse, sucked in, accumulated as another layer of the snow sphere's body. Already, there were several people in the mix. One of them was Nene.

And it was her bronze bracelet that he held at that moment.

It had been lying on his desk ever since he'd slid it unsuspectingly into his pocket the day he was meant to help her pack. It had waited patiently for months to be taken to the jewellers, where its clasp would be fixed and its tarnishes would be rubbed out. But life had kept getting in the way (or more accurately, Izaya had kept getting in life's way because he was a special kind of asshole). Instead, it ended up watching a pale teenager with sharp features and a nasty look in his eyes swivel around on a desk chair. Occasionally, the boy would chance a glance at it and the nasty look in his eyes would soften; he'd reach out and run his thumb over the ridges slowly, curiously, wonderingly.

Then one day, a package arrived and the next thing it knew, the bracelet had a new clasp and a shiny coat of polish.

It was a thumbtack treasure, a fleeting memory that had been pinned down before it could be replaced by More Important Things. It couldn't be categorised, not precious enough to be kept bound around her pulse but with enough worth to barter its way into the peripheries of her cluttered vision.

Her father had given her the bracelet when he'd returned from his self-exile, as if a trinket had the power to bridge the gap between two retreating souls. She found a rock the size of her fist, placed the bracelet on the side of the pavement, and smashed it down on the clasp until it was broken. Then, it was acceptable; then she could love it for what it was and not what it pretended to be.

Nene had never told Izaya that story, but that hadn't stopped him from coming to similar conclusions. The shattered clasp, the sticky dustcoat of neglect, the fact that she'd never even noticed its absence, or if she had, never cared enough to mention it.

As he stood in front of her locker, he was unaware of how tightly he was squeezing it and it had made little indents appear along his palm.

All this time, he had been trying to break her, but she had already been broken; that's why he couldn't fit her into any of his puzzles. She had gone to extreme lengths to make sure of that.

But this time _she_ had miscalculated.

Humans were gifted with the unique ability to regenerate themselves. Given enough time. He would wait for all of her cracks to smooth over, for her ribcage to unfurl like a blossoming flower and reveal her heart. Then he would drive a dagger tipped with poison into it and watch her crumble and disappear into the wind.

All he needed was time.

Slipping the bracelet into the locker slot along with a note, he pressed his palm flat against the cool metal door. Thin lipped smiles and inelegant snorts ghosted through him and the treasure chest rattled briefly. But before he could dwell too long, his phone buzzed with a text message.

_She's coming your way. Get out of there xxx_

He fixed on his trademark smile and merrily skipped off.

At the side of the school building, there was an observation deck for people to watch events held below in the gymnasium. It also meant that they could see directly into the hallway on the opposite side of the building, where conveniently Nene's locker was located. Here, Izaya watched her enter through the double doors.

Classes wouldn't start for another twenty minutes, so there was no one else around. No one to see her dejected expression, except him.

She opened her locker and jumped a little in surprise when the bracelet slid to the ground. He watched as she bent over and picked it up. Retrieving the note, she held one in each hand like she was weighing their significance. A pleasurable shiver went up his spine as he watched the colour drained from her face upon perusing the note.

After a few jittery moments of inspecting the hallway, Nene took out her phone.

Izaya let his shiny new phone ring for a few moments, savouring the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression on her face, before flipping it open against his ear.

"Moshi, moshi!"

"What the hell is this?" Both the note and bracelet were crumpled tightly in her fist.

"Nene-chan," he said, without bothering to feign ignorance. He would have to be as honest as possible in order to deceive someone like her. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get in touch."

"What's going on?" said Nene, her voice hoarse.

Technically, though they were facing each other over the gap, Nene's eyes were fixed on the ground (probably counting the tiles) and she had yet to realise he was there. Izaya, on the other hand, leaned against the hand railing, taking a twisted pleasure in being able to observe her so intimately without her knowledge. Not that it was the first time.

"Ahh, but you would have run away again if I tried to talk to you in person."

"Again?"

"Come on, Nene-chan, let's not pretend that you haven't been peeping around corners to make sure I wasn't there. I'm a little hurt that you were trying so hard to avoid me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but his next words caught her off guard.

"If you squeeze that bracelet so tightly you're just going to break it again."

Their eyes met across the crevice.

"This is new," she said. Her voice crackled over the phone. There was bad reception on his side of the school. "What's going on?"

Izaya slumped against the guard rail and jutted out his bottom lip in a childish pout before launching into a self-pitying lament.

"Nene-chan, you'll _never_ believe it! Some psycho ground my beloved phone to dust and then posted the pieces to me. Even my chip was destroyed and I lost all of my contacts." Straightening up now, the pout transformed into a predatory smirk and his voice adopted a honeyed tone. He was a snake with a cherub's face. "Naturally, I thought you would want my new number."

Suddenly it felt as though Nene and he were nose to nose, breath to breath and he could almost smell raspberries and coconut mingled with sweat.

"Stop joking around," Nene said. "That phone meant a lot to you."

"Mm, true... but Nene-chan means more."

She sighed. "Say something original for once Izaya-_san_."

If there was one person in the whole of Ikebukuro other than his demonic twin sisters and Shizu-chan who knew how to push his buttons, it was Akiyama Nene. He felt the same bitter sense of nostalgia from the first time they'd met and while the smile on his face remained, internally something flinched.

"Honestly," he began in a tone that indicated he was already bored of this, "I don't care if you believe me or not because it doesn't change the fact that you're far more valuable to me than a chunk of metal… in more ways than one." His words were pregnant with innuendo, and he was tantalised by the notion of a cold sweat breaking out on her lower back. "So relax. I'm not going to abandon you just because you threw a hissy fit."

"I know you well enough not to trust anything you say."

"_Ah,_ you misunderstand," he added sinisterly, "I still have every intention of making you pay me back."

"You're being omin-" she stopped herself.

His smile widened to disproportionate lengths as he watched her face sink in horror.

That had been a joke between two friends, good friends. Sometimes humans were so wonderfully predictable that it made him feel like he had an unfair advantage, like he was psychic or something. In Nene's case however, the tingle of satisfaction came with the jagged edge of disappointment. She shouldn't have been this easy to manipulate.

Even from this distance, Izaya could see the frustration in her darting eyes.

"Well… this has been heaps of fun, but I'm bored now. How about we hang out in person?"

"I think I'll pass," Nene muttered coldly. "It was really great talking to you again Izaya-san, but I think it would be best if we stayed out of each other's way from now on."

Even as Nene said the words, Izaya could tell she wasn't convincing anyone, let alone herself. They both knew he wasn't just going to let her go so easily, especially not when he'd finally figured her out.

His intense stare forced her to maintain eye contact.

"Are you finally extricating yourself from this relationship?" The words dripped off his tongue like melted chocolate.

She flinched her voice coming out in a breathy stammer. "…Yeah."

"Well if that's what you really want…hmmm?" he asked softly.

"Izaya…"

"I guess I have no choice then. Bye-bye Nene-chan. It was definitely interesting."

_Click_

* * *

"You're a real… what do they call it? You know- Ah a smooth operator."

"A smooth what? Actually, don't bother, coming from you, it's definitely something creepy."

Shizuo had agreed to skip last period on his annoying friend's insistence and go lounge about under the football stands. Shinra had made a strong case in saying that today, though the flea usually never turned up to Gym, he might make a special exception since today it was Shizuo's birthday. It was simply too dangerous a risk to take with everyone's emotions running high, especially just after Shizuo had made that promise to Nene.

To anyone else Shinra may have seemed like he was just being a thoughtful friend, to Shizuo, who had just endured half an hour of being nagged for details about Nene, it was anything but. The only good thing to have come out of this was that Shinra had passed on Celty's birthday gift, which just happened to be a birthday cake bought from Shizuo's favourite bakery.

The bespectacled young man watched on with an envious pout as the blonde monster gobbled it up in just a few bites, wondering why Celty was never so thoughtful when it came to his birthday gifts. The year before, instead of the kiss he'd been aiming for (quite literally, he launched himself through the air) all he'd received was a pulsating purplish bruise on the left side of his face.

"So did you really just walk off in the middle of talking to her? That's too rude, even for you," commented Shinra. He was lying on the grass at Shizuo's feet reading a medical textbook about post-mortem pathology. It was like he was trying to be creepy just to piss off Shizuo.

Sweet tooth satisfied, Shizuo sucked on the tip of an unlit cigarette, gazing at a ladybird that had been crawling up his arm for the last few minutes. He was trying to remain perfectly still so as not to frighten it, which also meant he couldn't use his lighter, and since Shinra was incapable of keeping his mouth shut for more than two minutes, remaining perfectly still was taking an inhumane level of self-restraint.

It was a kind of catch twenty two kind of situation. Kind of like the arrangement with Nene not to swat Izaya with a stop sign.

"I don't understand why such a nice girl like Nene is chasing after you. Then again, she also hangs out with Izaya and Toyoshima-san… so I guess we've established that she's clinically insane. Still, by society's standards she's pretty (but not as pretty as my Celty) and she's the only girl I've ever seen you take an interest in. I suppose you could do a lot worse than a masochist with a death wish. You have my blessings."

Shizuo had been deliberating on whether or not he could get away with stepping on Shinra without having to move his arm when the word 'pretty' stopped him short.

He'd never actually considered her in terms of appearance, not on purpose, not the way Shinra thought and subsequently verbalised about Celty every second of every day. Hell, if Shizuo ever found himself acting like that, he'd run to the nearest cliff and throw himself off. Pretty was probably an apt description though. It fit. Her face didn't make him want to puke so she couldn't be ugly, and the opposite of ugly was pretty, ergo…

For such a dainty little mouth, her lips were quite plump… and pink. He couldn't help noticing it when she was inches away from his face at the park. They looked soft. He guessed her eyes were interesting too, not because of their shape or colour, just the way she looked through them, like they were recording everything in the vicinity. They should have seemed greedy, but she didn't seem the gluttonous type.

In any case, he would have preferred greed over the desolation he'd witnessed at Russia Sushi when he and Izaya had almost destroyed the place. He'd been too angry at the time to notice, but when he replayed the events back to himself on the way home, he cursed himself for falling into the flea's trap so easily. The next day, he'd tried to find out what happened to Nene from Kimi, but all he learned was that she'd gone AWOL. The guilt trampled him like a herd of wild horses, and his hatred for Izaya had only doubled that day.

Then, she'd turned up on his doorstep… Well he couldn't quite place what he'd felt, only that it reminded him of those times when Kasuka slid a bottle of milk to him when he worked himself into one of his rants. Yeah, he'd wanted to chew her out for taking a nap outside in the middle of winter, but a stronger part of him wanted to drag her inside and wrap a blanket round her.

Shizuo banged his head against the column with a groan, startling the lady bird and sending it buzzing around Shinra's text book.

"Something bugging you, Shizuo-san?" Shinra asked wryly.

"It's nothing."

"Seeing you like this almost makes me want to squeal like a school girl," Shinra said with a patronising grin.

"Say another word and you will," Shizuo muttered, finally lighting his cigarette.

"…Ahah," Shinra chuckled nervously. "What I meant to say was that I'm happy for you. Being young and in love is a beautiful thing. "

"This has nothing to do with being young and in love."

"Don't be like that. For once, we have something to talk about that has nothing to do with crushing Izaya. Finally we have something in common- Uwah!"

Shinra screamed and leapt out of the way of Shizuo's foot as it came down and made a mini crater where his head had been. Sweat slid over Shinra's temples as he inspected the hole from a safe distance.

"It really looks like you were trying to kill me that time."

Shizuo pushed off the pillar and headed for the fence.

"Where are you going?" Shinra shouted after him, hesitating before running after him. "Russia Sushi?"

When he caught up, Shizuo was already half way up the fence.

"Nah still not allowed in there," Shizuo said, referring to the ban Dennis had placed on him after the incident with Izaya.

"So you're just trying to get away from me," said Shinra, staring at the fence with a look of resignation.

Shizuo dropped to the other side in a crouched position with a gentle thump. "Yep."

"Before you go, at least let me give you your birthday present." The shorter boy retrieving an envelope from his pocket.

There was a strange smile on his face as he slipped it through the fence to Shizuo, who was slightly reluctant to take it, but did so anyway because that was the polite thing to do when someone offered you a birthday gift.

The moment the envelope had passed hands, Shinra was running for his life in the opposite direction.

* * *

The door to Russia Sushi jingled open as Kimi entered.

She was dressed in a dark maroon skirt suit, the skirt portion a bit on the short side and was toting around a real leather briefcase with her initials inscribed at the front, which she held in front of her as if to shyly protect her modesty. From an outsider's perspective, she looked like a distinguished business woman. The four inch heels were the only thing that suggested that this was a girl made more for play, not work. And she carried herself with an air of superiority; her thin dark eyes half-lidded as if stuck in a constant state of boredom.

Actually, having just spent her evening being ridden by her robot of a boss Yagiri Namie, she could barely keep her eyes open. But she was perfectly happy for everyone to think otherwise. They looked at her like she was a precious artefact in a museum, to be looked at not touched. At least, that was her opinion; most of the male customers were just praying for her to drop her suitcase and bend over. As for the women, well, there were an unusual amount of them in the restaurant today, some Kimi recognised from Raijin, though few of them seemed to be paying attention to her.

So, she stood in the doorway of the restaurant, undisturbed by the look of contempt she was receiving from a jealous girlfriend, and scanned the establishment for a familiar face. The moment she caught sight of the messy bun hunched over the bar, all of her poise went out the window.

Walking up to the counter, the first thing she noticed was that Nene was still in her uniform. Had she been there all evening? She didn't even like sushi that much.

"Hey," said Kimi, placing her briefcase on the counter and hopping onto one of the stools.

Nene lifted her head and looked at Kimi through sleepy eyes.

"Hey," she said in a gruff voice, running a hand through her messy hair. Most of it had come undone and hung like a curtain over half of her face.

"Were you asleep?" Kimi asked dubiously.

Dennis, who had his back to them while he chopped up sushi, cocked his head back.

"For the last hour lying in her own drool," he said. "She's been scaring off customers."

Nene shot him a sleepy smile, "I bought a tonne of sushi though."

"Well your friend better buy some more," Dennis said, holding the cleaver up warningly.

"Bit pricey. Sure you can afford it?" Kimi asked sarcastically.

"I was celebrating," said Nene, her sleepy smile turning into a sleepy smirk. "Plus employees get a special discount. Ain't that right Simon?"

Simon, who was serving some customers behind them, shot the bewildered Kimi a cheerful grin.

"As long as Nene keeps promise."

A mortified blush covered Kimi's cheeks. "Promise? What promise?"

Nene poorly imitated a Russian accent "'_Stay away from Izaya and you work for Russia Sushi. Enjoy all the free Russian sushi you want… twenty percent off the original price_.'"

"You're… done with Izaya?" said Kimi, feeling as if she'd just fallen through the rabbit hole. "You're really done with Izaya?"

Nene shrugged, a distant look in her eyes. "Yeah."

"Whoa," breathed Kimi, forcing a smile on her face. "That's great… and-and congratulations on the new job. When do you start?"

Nene ignored the question, her tone changing. "Listen… when I ran out the other day, you told me to fix us."

Kimi gulped and turned away, scratching her nose. She hadn't touched the stuff since Nene had gotten rid of her stash though it would have been easy to get her hands on more. Izaya would have been more than happy to oblige. But the thought of looking into those dark, critical eyes again made her hesitate.

"Are you listening?"

Still avoiding eye contact, Kimi nodded.

"Things have got to change; you understand that, right?"

"Yeah."

Nene lowered her voice so that only Kimi could hear her. "That means no more crazy partying or binge drinking and definitely no more drugs."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"You need to clean up your act."

"I said I get it."

"Okay," said Nene, letting out a deep breath.

"That's it? Aren't you gonna say '_this is your last chance Kimi! Anymore shenanigans and I'm cutting you off_'?" It may have appeared sarcastic, even bitter, but the truth was she was genuinely afraid.

"There's no way I could make rent without your job," said Nene, grinning and placing her hand over Kimi's. "Looks you're stuck with me."

Tears filled Kimi's eyes as she stared unblinkingly at the shiny surface of the counter top. Her free hand came over Nene's and squeezed it tightly.

"You're such a sponge."

Their hallmark moment was rudely interrupted by a figure stumbling out of the back, a pile of boxes nearly as high as the ceiling teetering dangerously in his arms. All of the women in Russia Sushi practically spun round in their chairs to look at him. One even attempted to jump over the counter and help him but was thwarted at the last second by Simon, who simply grabbed her by the waist mid-jump and returned her politely to her seat.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Kimi, eyes going round as saucers. "Is that Shishizaki Hajime?"

"You didn't know? Shishizaki-nii's been working here for over a month now," said Nene.

"Shishizaki-nii?"

"He hates being called that."

"Of course"

Both girls winced as a box full of cutlery crashed to the ground.

"To be honest," whispered Nene, "he's finding it a bit difficult to keep up, which is why Simon was able to convince Dennis to hire me so easily. I think the only reason they keep him around is because he brings in so many customers."

"And you can see why," said Kimi, biting her lower lip as she ogled the flustered employee. "I'd let him break my plates any day."

Nene rolled her eyes at the love-struck girl. "If that was supposed to be a euphemism, it was a terrible one."

"He graduated last year right?" Kimi probed unable to take her eyes off the beautiful specimen of a man.

Hajime groaned loudly, placing what was left of the pile on the side and dropping to his knees to pick up the rest.

"That is correct," said Nene, staring at him with pitying eyes.

_"Well?"_ Kimi asked expectantly.

"Well what?"

"C'mon Miss Analytical, what else do you know about him?" demanded Kimi.

Nene started running off a list of attributes.

"He was the most popular guy in school, the girls adored him, the boys looked up to him, academically he did well… um what else?"

"I know all that stuff! Gimme something juicy."

"Okay… While he has the same sense of humour as a five year old, he's freakishly strong, probably just as strong as Shizuo but he has martial arts training. It's rumoured that he and Izaya don't get along. Something about Izaya setting him up on Valentine's Day **(Light Novel extra)** but there's probably a long list of crap-"

"I like this guy," interrupted Kimi. She let out a low whistle as Hajime bent over to pick up a broken plate and she was allowed a brief glimpse of his tight butt. "I think he's my type. You think he's my type?"

"The fact that he has a penis makes him your type," Nene said dryly. "He has a girlfriend."

"Figures. With a face like that," said Kimi, clearly disappointed, "he'd have to be gay or asexual not to."

"Don't do anything weird Kimi-chan, please. Shishizaki-nii is one of the nicest people I know."

"Can't promise anything."

After Hajime had finished cleaning up and batted away a particularly insistent fangirl attempting to simultaneously shove her number into his back pocket and pinch his ass, he came over to take their orders.

"Sorry about the wait; it's pretty crazy in here," Hajime said, smiling sheepishly.

Kimi shot him a spectacular grin, one she reserved for special cases, which in this instance, was an attached man. "No problem at all. It must be really difficult to deal with all of that attention."

"You should just listen to me and put laxatives in their food," muttered Nene, sticking her tongue out at one of the several fangirls shooting them a hateful glare.

"Do not put laxatives in their food," Dennis said, coming out of nowhere and pointing his cleaver at his newest employee's throat. Nene leaned back, fresh sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"You're still here Nene-chan?" Hajime remarked curiously. "Don't you have any school work?"

Kimi scoffed. "Nene-chan's like a genius," she boasted on her friend's behalf. "She's probably already done all of her homework."

"Nah he's right," said Nene. "But it's okay. Tonight, we're celebrating."

"Right, and what are you celebrating?" Hajime asked. There was a mouth-watering smirk on his face and Kimi let out a dreamy sigh, leaning forwards and resting her chin in her hand.

Nene thought for a moment. "Friendship," she finally said.

Hajime raised his eyebrows, glancing from Nene to Kimi. "Friendship," he echoed. "Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Or something," Nene said , grinning.

Hajime smiled back at her, his grey eyes softening. There was no way Kimi could just let this guy go.

"Well if that's the case, dinner's on me tonight," he told them.

Nene's grin widened. "Does that mean you'll pay for everything-"

"No," Hajime interjected before she could get any ideas, tapping her forehead with his pen, "just what you order from now on."

"You suck Shishizaki-nii," muttered Nene, pouting.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that," he hissed, seeming more flustered than when he'd dropped the box of plates. "I'm only two years older than you."

"Pick up the tab and I'll stop," Nene offered mercifully.

Kimi's eyes flicked between them like she was watching a bizarre Ping-Pong match.

"Ha-ha, you're funny, I think I'd rather pay my rent," said Hajime.

"Up to you Shishizaki-_nii_."

Stabbing her between the eyes again, he shot her a playful glare before turning back to Kimi. "So what are you having?"

By now, Kimi was wearing a seductive smile. "How about your phone number?"

Nene elbowed Kimi in the stomach, horrified. "Idiot, he has a girlfriend."

"I'm flattered, but yeah," Hajime said apologetically. "Sorry."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping we could double date," Kimi said, gesturing to Nene and herself.

Nene cocked her head to the side and stared at Kimi like her brain had just up and walked out of the restaurant.

"You know… me and Shishizaki-san," Kimi said, answering Nene's questioning glance, "you and Heiwajima."

"Eh?!"

"So you finally confessed, Nene-chan!" Hajime said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. If you had waited until Valentine's Day, Dennis would have won the pool."

"I did not," Nene snapped vehemently, elbowing Kimi again. Then realising what she said, hastily added, "I mean- there's nothing to confess!"

"Then why-?"

"Because Kimi-chan's insane. We were celebrating her recent release from the mental asylum, but now I'm thinking that it was a mistake and we should send her back," Nene muttered darkly. Then she turned to Simon, eyeing him suspiciously. "What did he mean by pool, Simon?"

Simon smiled at her. "No worrying Nene, you'll get wrinkle lines. Eat sushi," he said, tactfully evading the question.

Hajime rolled his eyes. "Simon already lost. He bet on Christmas."

"Wow so that thing's still going on," Kimi said nostalgically. "I bet on his birthday last year. Ah it was so cute. She bought him a box of cookies and everything, but when she got to the canteen, half of it had been set on fire…"

"Oh yeah, I remember that," said Hajime. "Izaya threw a canister of deodorant in the oven as a distraction, but then Shizuo picked up the oven and threw it at him…"

"Still, she probably would have just slid the cookies into his bag and ran away," said Kimi, shaking her head in disappointment.

Nene clutched her chopsticks in her fist with unusual menace. _"You guys-"_

Luckily, Nene was distracted by her phone vibrating in her pocket with a new text. She flung the snapped chopsticks down and picked up her phone.

"Who's that?" Hajime asked, sharing a conspiratorial look with Kimi. "Could it be the knight in shining armour Heiwajima Shizuo-kun?"

"They don't have each other's number," Kimi informed with obvious disapproval.

Nene blinked.

Hajime frowned. "Nene-chan, you seriously need to hurry up before-"

"It is Shizuo…"

Kimi thrust her hand out in an attempt to snatch the phone away, but Nene was too quick, sliding off her stool and running behind Simon.

"Let me see!" demanded Kimi. "What does it say?"

"None of your business you damn traitor!" Nene shouted, her head poking out from behind Simon's waist before she sped out of Russia Sushi without another word.

Shrugging her shoulders, Kimi decided to let Nene have her moment in the sun. In any case, now she would be able to spend some more quality time with tall, dark and inhumanly sexy.

"So is this girlfriend real or just an excuse to get the crazy fangirls off your back?" Kimi asked Hajime, jumping straight to it.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Hajime raised his eyebrows and regarded her curiously. "Nene-chan did say you weren't one to beat around the bush."

"Is it safe to say I'm right then?"

Leaning forwards on his elbows, the mouth-watering smirk returning to his face, he said in deep gravelly voice, "Do you really think that if I didn't have a girlfriend, I'd turn down a girl who looks like you?"

Kimi smirked right back. It was all she could do to stop herself from slipping off her stool. "Oh you're _good_…"

* * *

_Is this Nene? Shinra gave me your number. Hope that's alright._

_Heiwajima Shizuo._

Nene's eyes had been glued to her phone screen for the last twenty minutes as she sat at the bus stop, reading and re-reading the text. Three buses had already gone past.

_Good evening Shizuo-san! Don't worry about it, of course its fine! How are you? Yes it's Nene._

She quickly pressed the delete button. Too much, she needed to sound cooler.

_Hi Shizuo-san. Yes it's Nene._

She pressed delete again. That was too cold; she wanted to come across friendly, but not too friendly.

Having now discovered that practically everyone knew how she felt for Shizuo, she resolved not to give anything else away from now on. Over the years, she had developed a highly effective poker face, which allowed her to hide what she was thinking and thus observe and analyse to her heart's content with a great level of discretion. Initially, even Izaya had found her difficult to read. But when it came to Shizuo all control went out the window. It was like she was incontinent or something.

Her phone buzzed again.

_Hey?_

They were all traitors! Simon, Dennis, Kimi, even Hajime, who definitely shouldn't have known! Shockingly, the only one who had actually kept her secret was Izaya, and probably only because he was waiting for the opportune time to dangle it over her head like a piece of meat.

_Yeah, it's Nene and don't worry I was planning on asking for Shizuo-san's number anyway_- DELETE! DELETE! DELETE!

Why was this so hard? Nene groaned inwardly, stabbing her forehead with her phone.

Her phone buzzed again.

_!?_

An image of a vein pulsating on Shizuo's forehead as he waited for a reply came into Nene's head and a soft smile touched her lips. She started typing and once she was satisfied with what she'd written, she hit the send button.

_Hi Shizuo-san. Yeah it's Nene and yeah it's fine. I forgot to wish you Happy Birthday earlier, but I hope you had a good day._

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed again.

_Good. I thought that weirdo was just screwing with me. You should reply faster to your texts. What if someone was dying and they'd used their last text on you?_

This time it was much easier to formulate a response.

_I would be too busy calling an ambulance to text them back._

…_Guess you're right._

After she read it, the bus came and she got on, an idiotic smile plastered on her face all the way home.

* * *

**Author's Note: **See chapter 11 for a full note! Thank you all for reading, hope you enjoyed it.


	10. Chapter 10

_****__Special 3 Chapter Update!_

_A/N: Holy crap we finally __made it into double digit chapters! And you lot were all doubting me... understandably, I was quite shit. __No Author's Note. _Enjoy the chapter!

**Break you**

**Chapter 10**

"Ugh."

A cardboard box full of suspicious smelling fish landed with a dead thump on the freezer floor, the kind a corpse would make as it landed in a shallow grave dug by an inept serial killer.

Nene wiped the sweat off her brow and gave an all mighty tug on the walk-in freezer's heavy metal door. No wonder such insanely strong people were employed there, Nene mused, grunting in an unladylike manner. You needed to be a champion weight lifter just to open and shut doors. The door's bottom corner edge was misshapen, scratching the floor as she dragged it closed, producing a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard.

A lot had changed in the last couple of weeks. She'd joined the school paper as a staff photographer, deciding to make use of the camera leftover from her bird watching days. Then there was her and Shizuo. They were talking, well sort of talking. Okay so they were texting… infrequently, but it was better than nothing. Now if they happened to cross paths, Shizuo would no longer just ignore her like she was just a particle of dust floating through the air, sometimes he'd nod at her. At lunch, he'd even taken to sitting with them occasionally (them being Kadota, because she doubted he held any fondness for Shin or Isamu), though he hardly ever said more than two words.

She rubbed her sore hands on a uniform that was six times her size, another testament to the kind of people Simon and Dennis expected to work for them, and eyed the callouses that had started to form on her palm with a faint sense of pride. Next, she had to clean the knives.

Obviously, the biggest change had to be her new job at Russia Sushi.

After school, she went straight there and swapped her uniform for her work clothes behind a pile of boxes Simon had generously set up for her, reasoning that she was the only female employee and therefore required privacy. Hajime, who strongly believed this to be an act of sexual discrimination, often snuck over while she was in the middle of undressing and shoved the boxes on top of her. Revenge was dealt out soon after, when she printed his phone number on a bunch of the customers' receipts. One girl even fainted and Hajime was forced to deal with more than one angry boyfriend until the ambulance came.

Despite their less than mature prank war, Nene had somehow managed to persuade Hajime to train her in martial arts, less as an emotionally invested sensei and more as an unpaid, begrudging older brother figure who was trying to get her to shut up.

During their breaks they would go out into the alleyway behind the restaurant, he would show her a move and she would attempt to copy it, initially with poor results. And when their break was over Hajime would have to drag her back inside while she begged for ten more minutes to get it right. Sometimes Dennis or Simon would pass through and Nene could tell from the look in their eyes that they were critiquing her form, but they never said anything. Still she was improving, even Hajime said so. If she kept at it, she was hoping to be able to hold her own against multiple opponents. It was a good skill to have tucked away in her back pocket in a city like Ikebukuro where you never knew what was lurking in the dark.

Speaking of things lurking in the dark, Nene had seen little of Izaya since phone call. If they did happen upon each other, they would just pretend the other didn't exist and go on their merry way. Though in Nene's case that involved a strange tickle around the chest area, like a piece of paper was fluttering down her windpipe leaving a string of painful paper cuts in its wake. More than once Kimi had detected a forlorn look in the other girl's eyes and confronted her over it. And all the while that Nene was insisting that she was glad to be rid of such a greasy weasel, a bronze bracelet was clasped around her left wrist, obscured by the long sleeves of her sweater.

She told herself that she wore it because she and her father were getting along better than ever these days, but some nights, when she was feeling especially lonely, she would thumb the clasp and wonder what Izaya was doing.

What was he plotting?

Who was he planning to hurt next?

…Did he still think about her?

_CRASH!_

"Nene!" Dennis called from the front. "Bring the broom out. Hajime had another accident."

Sighing, Nene grabbed the broom from the store closet and slogged into the front. Hajime was attempting to apologise to a rather chubby lady whose plate he'd dropped. In the meantime her busy hands kept pawing at his kimono. Hikari was her name. She'd become a regular soon after Hajime had started working there, like many others, and was perhaps solely responsible for ninety percent of the broken cutlery.

"Eeeeheeehehehe!" squealed Hikari. "That's perfectly fine. I know Shishizaki-kun is a good worker."

Nene snorted.

Hajime looked round and saw her standing there, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. Muttering a quick _thanks_, he yanked his kimono from the woman's fat little fingers and scarpered behind the counter with his tails between his legs.

"You're a lucky girl," Hikari said to Nene as the girl bent over to sweep the broken fragments into a dustpan.

"Why?" Nene asked politely. Hikari may have been a total cougar, but Nene liked her because she tipped her just as well as she tipped Hajime. Probably because she didn't want it to seem like she was trying to buy Hajime for sex, though Nene wouldn't put it past her to try.

"Don't play dumb girl," Hikari said brusquely, smacking Nene round the back of her head with her purse. "You don't expect me to believe that nothing's ever happened between the two of you."

Nene raised her eyes sceptically and gave Hikari a look that said 'are you serious?'

"All those late nights working together, packing boxes away," Hikari said with a dreamy sigh. "Hands accidentally touching-"

"-Over rows of dead eyed fish," Nene finished for her dryly, straightening up. "The smell of questionable meat spilling out from the open freezer. The taste of bile making its way up my throat."

Hikari scoffed. "You're such a cynical girl."

"You must be into some pretty weird stuff Hikari-san, if that constitutes as romantic."

"So tell me, if not Shishizaki-kun, who does Nene-chan have her eyes on?"

Shizuo's face popped into the girl's head, but she didn't betray an ounce of emotion. Ever since she'd learned about her friends' little wager, she'd resolved to be a mask of impassivity.

"I'm actually into girls," Nene said with a straight face. "In fact, Hikari-san, its Valentine's Day tomorrow and I was wondering if you were free-"

"Oh _my _look the time!" exclaimed Hikari. Her face was glowing red. Then in a gruff bellow: "Shishizaki-kun, the bill please?!"

Nene wasn't surprised that Hikari took the bait. Because she had a big ego, even the smallest amount of flattery would go a long way. No doubt Hikari would later regale the tale to uninterested work colleagues over lunch (at a different restaurant), embellishing details here and there. She would say that she'd always had her suspicions about Nene, what with the young girl's lack of femininity and how often she would steal glances at Hikari while she ate. It never occurred to her that Nene was simply fascinated by how a woman who ate out every day couldn't afford a proper fitting bra.

"What did you say to her?" Hajime asked, watching in amusement as the older lady tottered out of the restaurant at a speed he would have never guessed her capable of.

Nene shrugged. "Told her I wanted to take her out to dinner."

"I guess I'd run too if I was her."

Suddenly a cleaver whizzed between their heads and embedded itself in the wall with a sharp twang. Sweat poured from her forehead. She turned her head fearfully to meet Dennis's easy-going smile.

"Forgive me boss," said Nene, bowing promptly.

"This is for the group in the private booth," Dennis said, gesturing to the plates he'd laid on the counter.

Nene balanced the four trays on her arms just as she'd been taught and toddled towards the private booth. She wasn't prepared for what would meet her there.

"Huh?!"

Nene's mouth fell open in shock, the booth's curtain draped over the top of her head. Sitting at the table were Shinra, Kadota, Jun and Shizuo and all of their eyes decided to converge on her at the same time.

"Why if it isn't Akiyama-san," Shinra greeted energetically.

Kadota and Shizuo went for the less conspicuous nod while Jun merely smiled.

"Does Dennis know you're here?" a confused Nene asked Shizuo, referring to the ban.

"Shizuo-kun was exonerated this morning," Shinra explained cheerfully, "so we decided to come for dinner."

"He's only here because he thinks he's getting a free meal," Kadota said, smirking.

"Not true," said Shinra. "I wanted to see Shishizaki-san as well. It's been a while since all of us were together like this."

Shizuo was nibbling on the end of a toothpick in silence, the usual grumpy expression on his face, not even looking at her.

Nene's heart sank.

Shizuo was sitting there in the restaurant she worked at and she had had the ridiculous notion that maybe he'd come to see her. But it was Shishizaki-nii, not her. It was a familiar restaurant, with familiar food for a good price that brought them, not her. What was the point of getting carried away, she thought to herself in resignation. Shizuo had made it painfully clear that he had no interest in her. It would probably be better if she just moved on.

Yeah, it was time to give up. She and Kimi had gotten a new lease of life after all. They had jobs. Izaya was no longer bugging them. The stove hadn't broken in over a week. It was time to let go of her silly teenage crush-

"Um, is that our order?" Jun asked, returning Nene back to present matters.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Nene said sheepishly, placing them down in front of each of them. They immediately swapped the plates round to the right people. "Well uh… enjoy."

She'd nearly made it out of there when a shadow rose over her, ushering her back into the booth. Nene attempted to communicate her displeasure silently through facial expressions but Hajime just looked over her head and pretended not to notice.

"Long time no see, guys!"

"Shishizaki-senpai," exclaimed Shinra. "We were just telling Akiyama-san about how Shizuo's ban has been lifted and he's treating us all to sushi."

"Tch, I never said I was treating you, you lot just tagged along," muttered Shizuo. "Idiot."

"Heh, that's very charitable of Dennis," Hajime said thoughtfully. "Very charitable _indeed."_ Nene tried to manoeuvre past him but he just threw his arm over her shoulder and strong-armed her into a sideward hug. No one noticed the toothpick Shizuo's mouth snap between his teeth. "Well remember to tip big. Nene-chan's our best server."

Nene pursed her lips together in a rigid smile. "I have you to thank for that."

"That's so sweet-"

"I didn't mean it as a compliment Shishizaki-_ojisan_."

"…I hate you."

"The feeling's mutual."

"_Ahem_."

The two employees broke their intense eye contact in favour of staring expectantly at Yamamoto Jun.

"Sorry," she said, the polite smile on her face unreadable. "I was wondering if Nene-san managed to get the pictures for next week's issue printed off?"

From their first meeting, it was obvious that Jun shared some kind of sordid history with Izaya so she was keen to keep her distance from the Gothic Lolita. Unfortunately, since Jun also happened to be editor-in-chief for the school paper, that was impossible.

"Don't want a repeat of last time after all," Jun said meaningfully.

At the same time Dennis called out for Hajime. In one fell swoop Nene elbowed her way out of his hold and shoved him out of the booth.

"The film reel's at the printer's as we speak. I'm going to pick them up when my shift ends," Nene said evenly.

"Oh, good."

"What happened last time?" Shinra probed nosily.

"I forgot to print out the pictures and the issue was delayed a bit," Nene answered unapologetically.

"We missed our deadline," Jun corrected.

"They'll be on your desk tomorrow morning."

"At the very latest."

Nene exited the booth and scurried over to where Dennis and Hajime were having a heated discussion, unaware of her presence.

"You're cheating!" Hajime exclaimed. "You said it yourself when you brought me in, we're not allowed to interfere."

"I'm not," Dennis responded with an innocent grin. "It's just a coincidence. If tomorrow Nene decides to conf-"

"Boss?" Nene interrupted.

They both fell silent, their faces painted with guilt as if they'd just been caught in the act. Lucky for them, Nene had more important things on her mind at that moment.

"Hm?"

"Do you mind if I take my break early?"

Dennis looked somewhat relieved that she hadn't asked what they were talking about. "You've got customers," he said.

"I know, but couldn't Shishizaki-nii cover them? I just realised I've got to do something," Nene said, glancing nervously over her shoulder. "It's kind of urgent."

Dennis sighed. "Okay, but don't be long."

"Yes sir!"

As the two men watched her scurry out of the restaurant, throwing a quick wave at Simon handing out fliers, Dennis turned to Hajime questioningly.

"Do you think she's being sarcastic when she says that?"

"Yes sir!" Hajime replied with a toothy grin.

"Get back to work."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Nene's shoulders finally relaxed once she'd handed the forgotten reel of film over to the shop assistant at the Print Shop, who assured her that it would be ready for collection before her shift ended. Glancing at her watch, Nene saw that she still had time to spare before Dennis started docking her pay and since she'd practically sprinted all the way here, she decided to take it slow on her way back.

She was just turning the corner near Russia Sushi, counting the cracks in the pavement, when from the corner of her eyes she saw a hand reach out to grab her. Her instant reaction was to swing her leg round to kick her attacker in the face, but there were three problems with this. One, her attacker's height was above average so her foot only reached his collarbone. Two, her attacker's hand effortlessly caught her foot. Three, her attacker was Heiwajima Shizuo.

"Yo."

Nene just gaped at him in utter bewilderment, her leg up in the air like she was about to piss on a fire hydrant.

"C-can I have my foot back?" she stammered.

"Hm," he said, looking at the foot in his hand as if he'd only just noticed it was there. "Oh."

He released her and she noticed that there was a cigarette hanging undisturbed from the corner of his mouth, its ashen tip still intact, further proof of the difference in their strengths.

"Sorry if I scared you," said Shizuo, a trail of smoke unfurling from lips.

"That's okay," said Nene. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

He pointed to the cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh."

"You do martial arts?" he asked.

"Used to. Recently Shishizaki-nii's been showing me a lot of useful stuff. For such an irresponsible jerk, he's a surprisingly good teacher," Nene rambled on. "Though when he finishes teaching me all of the cool stuff and I surpass him I plan on beating him up."

"What for?" Shizuo asked.

Nene couldn't help but wonder if he was just making polite conversation. Then again he was the one that grabbed her when he could have just let her walk by.

"Simon made this partition out of boxes for me in the back where I could change out of my uniform but every time I start getting undressed the jerk shoves all the boxes on me. I don't know if he's a pervert or just a jerk. I think jerk because Shishizaki-nii never sticks around to look at me in my underwear…"

"Annoying."

Nene was too busy counting the cars going by in an attempt to calm her nerves to notice the slight darkening of Shizuo's expression. Clouds were gathering over his brow.

"…Plus he has a girlfriend. Kimi-chan's convinced that he doesn't though but I think that's just because Kimi-chan wants to get in his pants. She could be right though. I've never met his girlfriend. He could be using the excuse that he has a girlfriend just to perv on girls, like when guys pretend to be gay ha-ha-"

"Shut up." Shizuo was pinching the bridge of his nose, a vein pulsating on his forehead. "You talk too much."

"Sorry," said Nene, quickly averting her eyes to the ground. "I'm not usually such a talkative person," she added in a small voice. "Maybe I should go back inside."

Shizuo didn't say anything further, scowling at his shoes as Nene walked away.

Now it was her proverbial tail that was limp between her legs as she returned to the restaurant.

Hajime, who had been watching the whole thing through the shop window without the least bit of shame, followed her into the back, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"You're an embarrassment to the female race."

Nene was hauling the freezer door open. "Your penis is an embarrassment to the female race."

When there was a wide enough crack for a small person to enter through, Nene slipped in.

"Aha!" Hajime exclaimed triumphantly. "You've never seen my penis."

"That's because I'd need a microscope!" Nene shrieked, slamming the freezer door shut on his face.

* * *

Nene had been banging her head against a box of wasabi when Simon effortlessly yanked the freezer door open half an hour later. _Why are there so many freakishly strong people in Ikebukuro?_ Nene thought, afraid that the door would come off its hinges.

"Don't be sad, eat Russian sushi," Simon had said, picking Nene up from the shirt collar and depositing her outside of the freezer. "After you finish working."

Nene craned her neck back so that she could glower at his smiling face to the best of her ability, but the longer she retained eye contact the scarier the smile seemed, like an optical illusion and soon her willpower had buckled and she skulked back into the main area. The only saving grace was that Shizuo and the others had left by the time she came out. She wondered if it was luck or if Simon had timed it that way on purpose.

Now it was ten o'clock and she could finally go home.

For the final half of her shift Dennis and Simon were discussing important financial matters in the back and Nene took the opportunity to lie down behind the counter, leaving Hajime in the lurch with a family of eight including four pubescent girls.

Several times Hajime attempted to rouse her by throwing balls of tissue at her, even offering her a percentage of his tips. Some of the helpless looks he'd implored her with should have stirred even the coldest of hearts into lending a hand. Unfortunately, Nene was still smarting from the 'embarrassment to your female race' comment so she just turned her head in the other direction and started snoring loudly.

Until of course the customers started to complain, forcing Dennis and Simon to come out and see what the racket was and promptly give Nene a kick up the backside.

But it all worked out in the end because now she could go home and sleep-

"Don't forget to pick up the photos," Hajime said with a devilish grin. And with that he popped her bubble of hope.

No, she could not go home just yet, she thought, hiking her bag and turning her head back to inspect Hajime with narrowed eyes. Then again, Hajime could not go home for another three hours.

She stifled the urge to throw her head back and cackle, instead sticking her tongue out at him like a five year old and sweeping out of the restaurant in one flourishing movement.

It was quite nippy outside and she paused in front of the sushi joint trying to decide whether or not to reach into her backpack and take out her coat. Then, something caught her eye, something blonde and tall, wearing a Raijin uniform.

Looking discretely to the side, she saw Shizuo leaning against the restaurant window, a brown paper bag tucked under his arm, staring at the passing traffic with a serene look on his face. She had a vague sense of Déjà vu.

Nene wondered if she should say hi and then remembered what had happened earlier and started walking, pretending she hadn't seen him.

She'd resolved to move on hadn't she? What was the point of getting a new lease of life if she was just going to go stumbling back into old habits? If he wanted to talk to her he could-

"Oi, wait up!" called Shizuo, walking up to her in a short few strides. Curse his long legs.

"Good evening Shizuo-san," said Nene, almost overly chirpy. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

The joke was lost on Shizuo, for which the younger girl was glad. It was a stupid joke.

"Here," he said, thrusting the paper bag in front of her face. "Shishizaki said you needed these."

Nene took the bag and looked inside.

"You picked up the photos," Nene said with a dazzling smile. "Thank you so much. You're a life saver!"

Shizuo sheepishly adjusted the strap of his shoulder bag. "No problem."

"How'd you get them anyway?"

Shizuo shrugged. "I said your name and they just handed them over."

"That's terrible. What if I had naked pictures on there?"

Nene regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Shizuo looked away from her, facial muscles tensed.

"Not that I do that sort of thing," Nene quickly assured him. "These are just pictures for the school paper."

"Hm," Shizuo grunted hoarsely.

"Well thanks anyway. I should get going. Bye," said Nene, eager to get away.

No such luck.

"I'm going that way too," he said. "I'll walk you."

Now that was a barefaced lie. Shizuo's house was in the opposite direction.

Nene kept sneaking curious glimpses at the sullen faced youth who seemed to embody teenage apathy, wondering why he had gone to the trouble of picking up the photos and waiting until her shift ended to hand them to her. If she had a big ego like Kimi, she would have said that it was because he wanted to have a hundred babies with her and that the whole pretending to be going in the same direction was all an elaborate ruse to spend more time with her. But that was stupid; she knew Shizuo didn't think about her that way. He felt guilty about snapping at her earlier so he was being extra nice.

"You like birds, right?" Shizuo asked out of nowhere.

Nene furrowed her brow. How did he know that? "Yeah…"

"Ueno Zoo has birds."

This conversation was getting weirder by the second. "It does."

"Would you like to go see them?" he muttered. "With me."

"Huh?" blurted out Nene.

"Yes or no?" Shizuo asked in a gruff, impatient voice.

She started scratching at the soft indents in her skin left by the bracelet. She needed to stall. She had no idea how to respond. She wasn't even sure her heart was beating anymore, or if it was, it was beating so fast that she could no longer feel it.

"When?"

Shizuo shrugged. "Whenever you want."

Their eyes finally met as they came to a halt by the bus stop, an awkward silence falling over them.

Shizuo's face was calm, unreadable. It was what she found so incredible though. It was the condition of the human race to hide their thoughts, their emotions, and so Nene had grown up deciphering sham marriages and self-conscious pretences, but Shizuo didn't operate like that. He was pure, animal, instinctual, whilst she and everyone else was a product of a millennia's worth of socio-cultural repression. She could never tell what he was thinking because she couldn't apply the same rules to him as everyone else.

"If you don't want to go," Shizuo said after a while, "just say so."

When she finally spoke, her voice was so soft that he was forced to duck his head to hear her. "You're not doing this because someone else told you to… Are you?"

"Eh? I'm doing it because I want to," he said, scowling at her like he thought she should know better.

One reservation stood out amongst the rest. Its spindly hand was clasped around her wrist, digging its sharp nails into her skin and cutting off her circulation.

The bus arrived and stopped in front of Nene, the door's opening with a beckoning swish. She could feel both the bus driver's and Shizuo's eyes on her, watching her as she hesitated in front of it. After a few drawn out seconds, the doors closed and the bus drove off, leaving the two teenagers standing by the curb.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Special 3 Chapter Update! _**

_A/N: Phew, finally made it to 11. Extensive Author's Note below for those who want to listen to me rant. Enjoy! Make sure to go to _**Chapter 9** _and start reading from there. I know sometimes you get linked to the most recent chapter._

**Break You**

**Chapter 11**

"This is so damn stupid," Shizuo grumbled pacing back and forwards in the kitchen, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Kasuka was sitting at the table eating a yoghurt, his eyes tracking his brother's movements.

"What gift have you picked out?" asked Kasuka.

"Eh? I was supposed to buy a gift?"

Kasuka nodded his head. "It's the polite thing to do and it will set a nice tone for the rest of the day."

Shizuo turned to him, gripping the top of his head in frustration. "I should… just cancel."

Kasuka shook his head. "If you make a commitment you should keep it," he said tonelessly.

"Ah, of course, you're right," nodded Shizuo, collapsing into the seat opposite his little brother.

"Is that what you're wearing?"

Kasuka remained expressionless as Shizuo let out a howl of frustration. Who would have thought that one of the scariest guys in Ikebukuro could be undone over something as harmless as a seventeen year old girl?

At the same time on the other side of town, Akiyama Nene burst into the living room/kitchen of her small apartment in nought but a towel and her undergarments.

"I'm cancelling," she announced before falling face first into the purple bean bag chair with a _shlump_. "This can only end in tears."

"You're not cancelling," Kimi countered. She was sat cross-legged on one of the moth bitten couches flicking through a fashion magazine while she waited for her nails to dry, barely paying attention to her best friend's emotional crisis.

"I've spent the last hour staring at my wardrobe," Nene said, voice muffled by the beanbag.

"Well if you go in what you're wearing now I'm sure Heiwajima won't complain," Kimi remarked with a sly smirk.

Nene twisted her head round and shot a miserable scowl at the other girl.

"Don't make faces at me just because you have no taste. I've offered to take you shopping a bunch of times and every time you've had the same smartass response-"

"I'd rather shoot a nail gun into my kneecap," both girls said in unison, though Nene did so with more hostility than necessary before slamming her face back into the beanbag.

"And now look at you," Kimi said, taking an inappropriate amount of pleasure from her friend's predicament. "You're a half-naked ostrich with your head in the ground."

"Least I'm not a half-naked ostrich bent over a desk," grumbled Nene.

"You say something?"

"Nope."

"You know this problem could be solved _very_ easily," said Kimi, an excited glint in her eyes.

"Your clothes are too small. I would suffocate in the chest area."

This earned Nene a magazine to the head.

Meanwhile Shizuo and Kasuka were standing in their garden, the former staring guiltily at their mother's petunias, the latter simply staring at them.

"Can't do it," Shizuo said finally, storming back into the house, shoulders slumped in defeat and followed closely by Kasuka.

* * *

In a fancy high-rise apartment, a young man in glasses sat at his computer, head resting in his palm as he pined after an absent roommate. Celty had decided to follow up on another lead that morning and had left a note on the fridge telling him not to wait up. Sighing mournfully, he wished that his headless love would soon be returned to him.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Shinra leapt from his seat and ran to the front door in hopes that his prayers had been answered.

Flinging it open, his smile instantly dropped upon seeing the person actually stood before him.

"Yo Shinra," Izaya greeted, an eyebrow raised. "Looks like you were expecting someone else."

"Ah yes, my roommate's gone out for the day and I was hoping she'd come back early. Unfortunately it was just you," said Shinra, opening the door fully so that Izaya could enter.

"Your obsession with that headless rider is more disturbing than your afterschool activities," Izaya said, resting on couch.

"I don't want to hear that coming from a person like you. Shizuo told me what's been going on," said Shinra. He went over to the fridge and took out two cans of green tea, throwing one to Izaya.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," drawled Izaya, his smile suggesting otherwise as he popped the tab. "I haven't seen Shizu-chan in a while now. I would say I miss the protozoan but then I'd be lying. Really, if he could disappear or just die then life would be a lot easier for me."

"You have Akiyama-san to thank for that."

That caught Izaya's attention. "Nene-chan? What has she got to do with it?"

"Ah I can't believe it! There's something that Orihara-kun doesn't know," Shinra said, a little giddily.

"Yes, yes," said Izaya, appearing to find the conversation extremely dull. "So why not just tell me."

"I will, but not because you want me to tell you, but because I want to savour the expression on your face when I do," said Shinra, sitting on the couch opposite Shinra.

"Say it then," Izaya said, barely masking his impatience.

"Shizuo-kun promised Akiyama-san that he wouldn't lay a finger on you. You're surprised right? I was too when I Shizuo told me. I couldn't believe that someone would actually be able to stop him from killing you when he had his mind so set on it, especially after he found out about the Uchida Taizo scandal that you'd orchestrated."

There was a strange expression on Izaya's face as he listened to Shinra. It wasn't angry, but nor could it be called emotionless. There was something stirring under the surface.

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about," Izaya said in a thin voice. He'd pressed the can of green tea to his chin and while he appeared to be looking at Shinra and listening attentively, something in his gaze said that his concentration was split in two.

"Whenever something goes wrong in this town, you don't have to look too far before you find Orihara Izaya's name attached to it," Shinra explained matter-of-factly, as though he'd long since accepted to that truth.

Izaya smirked bitterly in response, but said nothing.

A sharp ring sounded from the landline and Shinra plucked the receiver from the cradle.

"Hello-" Shinra sat there listening to the speaker on the other end of the line for a short while before finally speaking. "Ahh, slow down Shizuo-kun! I can't understand a thing you're saying."

Izaya's ears pricked at the mention of Shizuo's name and he unconsciously leaned forward.

"Flowers? I have no idea what flowers she would like… in fact, she doesn't seem like the kind who likes flowers at all… What?! You can't blame me if you don't know a thing about her… well if you know she likes sweets why don't you just get her a box of chocolates? … Again, how am I supposed to know if she has any allergies? Really Shizuo-kun it's quite sad that you don't know a thing about the girl you're… what do you mean this is all _my_ fault? It was you that- Ah you know what Shizuo-kun I have to go, I'll speak to you later."

It had suddenly dawned upon Shinra that Izaya was listening in very intently to their conversation. Shinra put the phone back and cautiously met Izaya's gaze.

"What was that about?" Izaya asked. Though he was feigning innocence, something malignant glinted in his eyes.

"Ahah, Shizuo-kun just needed some help picking out a birthday gift for his mother," Shinra lied smoothly.

"Her birthday is in October," Izaya said dryly.

"Ah of course, I meant a late Valentine's gift," Shinra recovered quickly. "Also, it's kind of worrying that you know so much about him."

"Hah, yeah I guess you're right," said Izaya. Throwing back the can, he gulped it down swiftly and jumped out of his seat, sauntering towards the exit.

"Hey where are you going?" Shinra shouted after him, a knot in his stomach.

"I just remembered I've got some business to take care of," Izaya said cryptically.

Moments later, Shinra's front door crashed shut, causing the bespectacled boy to flinch. Sighing, he picked the phone back up and dialled, hoping that he wouldn't be too late.

* * *

The train was jerking violently against the tracks,but the fact that it was overflowing with people meant that it was almost impossible for anyone to move let alone fall. Unfortunately, it also meant that there was a lot of physical contact between the passengers. Particularly awkward were two teenagers wedged in the nook of one of the doors.

Being close friends with Shinra came with some unpleasant perks, one being that he got to hear about all the unsavoury rumours concerning young girls on packed trains. Now Shizuo didn't usually put much stake in anything the little freak said, but when they got on the train and Nene ended up sandwiched tightly between two massive guys, his eyebrow started to twitch. He mistook the redness of her face as a sign of discomfort, which just pissed him off more. It never occurred to him that just as her face was red, so was everyone else's. That all the heat produced by the amount of bodies compacted into such a small space was unappreciated by everyone.

Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, Nene stretched her arm out, reached through a sea of convoluting bodies and touched his elbow, perhaps to reassure him.

Without warning, he had grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward where she landed against his chest.

Eventually, after a bit of awkward shuffling, a few elbows in rib cages and hands on hips, they ended up in their current position with Nene's back pressed into the corner of one of the train doors and Shizuo standing in front of her like some kind of shield.

Nene was trying her very hardest to ignore every impulse inside of her screaming to rest her head on his chest and fold into him like an origami swan.

Similarly, but for very different reasons, Shizuo was very careful not to press against her too much (she'd already been forced to hang onto his arm to keep her balance) in case she felt like he was just trying to take advantage of her. The thought made his face heat up and for the remainder of the train journey he kept his eyes trained on the spot just above her head.

When they stepped off the train and into the fresh air, the taller of the two became absorbed with trying to figure out the poorly drawn map Kasuka had made for him. "When we get out of the station we have to… argh this is annoying," he muttered angrily.

"Here, let me try," said Nene, peering over his arm at the crumpled up piece of paper.

Shizuo lowered his arm to give her a better look. Smelling the subtle waves of raspberries rising from her unkempt hair, he felt strangely calm as he watched her trying to decipher the map.

"Look," Nene instructed, pointing at a spot on the map, "This is where we are now, and we're most likely facing in this direction…"

Not long after they were standing in line for tickets to Ueno Zoo and the typically quiet Shizuo was staring over Nene's head and probably everyone else's too, a bored expression on his face.

They should have been talking to each other, but as usual he didn't seem bothered with filling the vacuum with idle chit chat and she had no idea what else to say. Every potential topic that came to mind seemed mundane, or annoying, or ignorant. Was this what happened to people when they got to spend quality time with their crushes? Was the pressure to impress so great that all sense flew out the window?

Rejecting her latest topic idea 'If humans never existed, what species do you think would have reigned?' (Nene suspected cats, since the current reigning species seemed to worship them like Gods already), she decided yes, not only did rational thought go out the window, it got flattened by a steamroller.

They bought their tickets, individually, Nene reasoning that Shizuo had already gone to the unnecessary trouble of giving her a meal coupon for Russia Sushi, and walked through the barriers. After a short discussion about which attraction they wanted to see first (mostly one-sided since Shizuo didn't seem particularly bothered) they headed towards the gorilla enclosure.

"That one's got his finger up its butt," Nene pointed out, snorting amusedly as she leaned forward on the guardrail. Shizuo and a chubby little boy in an elementary school uniform who had drifted from his group, both shot her questioning looks. "Now he's… yep he's sticking it up his nose."

"Ew, gross," the little boy squealed, making a face.

"I think that one's trying to mate with the one that's lying on its back," Nene commented, leaning in further so her stomach was folding over the bar.

Shizuo automatically grabbed her collar and tugged her back down. "How can you tell?"

"See how she keeps pressing her lips together and beating the ground? She's trying to get his attention," explained Nene, "which is common mating behaviour. Unfortunately for her the male isn't showing any interest. He's happy to just lie there and play with himself… Poor girl."

Nene said the last part with an unusual amount of sympathy, even sighing. Beside her, Shizuo had clapped his hands over the little boy's ears, his face turning a bright shade of red.

"Oh wait, now she's doing it too!" exclaimed Nene, pointing. "And… aw yay, he's finally showing some interest... _Whoa! _A lot of interest."

Both Shizuo and the little boy screwed their eyes shut.

"Maybe we should give them some privacy," Nene suggested.

Shizuo opened one eye guardedly, only to discover that Nene had already sauntered off in the direction of the Lion's Den. He muttered an apology to the traumatised little boy and went after her, weaving his way through crowds of families and groups of school children.

"Oi, don't walk off like that," Shizuo told her once he'd caught up.

"Huh? Sorry," Nene said sheepishly, "I thought you might have wanted to watch the gorillas for a bit longer."

Shizuo made a strange sound in the back of his throat.

"I _did not_," he bit out, his face turning maroon.

"My mistake," she said quickly. "Hey look over there, lions! Did you know-"

"If it's about their mating habits I don't wanna hear it," Shizuo interjected curtly. His hand itched at the side of his jeans pocket, but he didn't want to smoke when there were so many children around.

"No, it was about their hunting habits. But that's okay," Nene said gingerly.

They watched the lions napping without saying a word to each other. Shizuo, who had already come down from his flare of anger, felt a pang of guilt for snapping at her. Instead of watching the lions (not that there was much to watch) he snuck sidewards glances at Nene, trying to figure out what was going through her head.

One of the lionesses woke herself up with a snort, then rolled round and fell back into a peaceful slumber.

After all, Nene wouldn't have meant anything creepy by the comment; Nene didn't exactly seem like the type of girl who hung out with guys that enjoyed watching gorillas masturbate.

"You were saying something about their hunting habits…" said Shizuo, staring straight ahead.

Nene grinned. "Okay so basically…"

* * *

At the same time back in Ikebukuro, the doorbell to Nene and Kimi's flat rang. Tossing down the work file she'd been checking for discrepancies, Kimi hauled herself off the couch, walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.

"Oh fuck me," Kimi whispered angrily. Shinra had already called to warn her that the freak might come there; she'd just been hoping that he was wrong. Instead of opening the door right away, she leant her shoulder against the frame and waited.

"If you don't want someone to know you're in you shouldn't curse so loudly right by the door," came Izaya's muffled, condescending voice from the other side. "… You know it's really rude to keep people waiting on your door step Kimi-san."

"I was just hoping you'd get the damn hint," said Kimi, inspecting her newly manicured cuticles. "So why don't you just skip away or whatever it is you do and let me enjoy my weekend off in peace."

"Ah well, if that's how you want to be…" Izaya said playfully, "I guess I'm just going to have to tell you the details of your next assignment right here… standing in the middle of your walkway where all your neighbours can hear."

Kimi opened the door, glaring at the smartly dressed man who simply smiled in a business-like manner before walking in. His first instinct was to plop down on Nene's bean bag chair, something that irked Kimi to no end. She wondered if he did it on purpose to piss her off or it was just an unconscious thing, which pissed her off even more because then that meant he harboured even more twisted designs for her best friend without even knowing it.

Izaya gave the apartment a superficial look over, his eyelids lowered in bored indifference. "Love what you've done with the place."

"That's great, it'll make a nice grave site for you," Kimi said grimly, looming over him with her arms crossed.

"Oooooh, Kimi-san's always so scary," Izaya said in a mock fearful voice. "Maybe if she tried to be more delicate like other girls, men wouldn't just discard her after sex."

Kimi smiled tightly, grinding her teeth behind her pursed lips and sat down slowly on the couch. Somehow she was able to make such a mundane act like sitting on a couch appear menacing. "Do we have to go through this stupid routine every single time?"

"Isn't that my line?" Izaya asked, smirking.

"As you can see, I'm really busy," Kimi said, gesturing to the paperwork scattered on the floor, "So if you could just hurry up and tell me what I need to do and get the fuck out of my apartment, I'd really appreciate it."

Izaya pretended not to hear her. "Where's Nene-chan? She doesn't have work today."

"How the hell should I know? I'm not obsessed with her like some people," Kimi snapped a little too quickly.

"If you say so."

"Why do you care anyway? She dumped you remember," Kimi said smugly.

"Just because you bark like a dog doesn't mean I'm going to answer," Izaya said with a cool smile.

Kimi's eye twitched.

"I need you to do something for me of a very delicate nature Kimi-san..."

As Izaya explained what that was, Kimi pulled out her phone and started texting, trying to blot out the fact that she was currently taking orders from possibly the worst human being in the world.

* * *

_Izaya knows about you and Shizuo. The creep's probably going to do something weird so be on your guard. x_

"What's up?"

They were sitting on a bench outside the Bird House eating the ice cream cones Shizuo had bought for them when Nene got the text message.

"Kimi's just checking up on me," Nene lied smoothly.

Or she thought she had until the hand that was holding her mobile phone was suddenly empty. Shizuo had plucked it out of her grasp and was inspecting it curiously.

"Hey give that back," she said leaning for it, but he moved it out of her reach.

"I'll give it back when you tell me the truth."

"That's okay. Shizuo-san isn't a thief so I know he'll return my phone to me eventually," Nene said confidently.

"...I'll go through your text messages and find out for myself then." Flipping open her phone, he started pressing random buttons.

"But that's a serious breach of privacy," explained Nene, returning her attention to her ice cream. "There could be some really private stuff on there, or even something embarrassing."

There was a brief pause.

"Tell me damn it!" snapped Shizuo, gripping her phone so tightly she was afraid he would end up breaking it accidentally.

"You'll get angry if I tell you."

"And I'll get angry if you don't tell me so who the hell cares!"

"I do," Nene said simply, a white ring of ice cream around her mouth. She really was a messy eater, thought Shizuo. "I don't want you to get upset over something pointless."

"Well… Whatever. I don't care."

"Does that mean I can have my phone back?"

"No," he said, pocketing it with a vindictive smirk. "Like you said, you'll get it back eventually."

Nene would have been annoyed but she was too busy having a mini-heart attack over the way he was looking at her. If Kimi was there, she would have called it sexy, but Nene was far too innocent to have lewd thoughts like that.

"Here," Shizuo said, passing her a tissue with a look of mild disgust, "wipe your face."

"Huh what?!" exclaimed Nene. Surely she couldn't have been caught drooling.

"You've got ice cream all over your face."

She laughed nervously and dabbed her mouth. "So where do you want to go now?"

Shizuo nodded at a poster stuck to a fence made out of bamboo. It was advertising the petting zoo in the West Area. The colour drained from Nene's face.

She gulped hard. "D-Do they have rabbits there?"

"Probably."

"I don't like rabbits," Nene said, staring unblinkingly at the midday sun.

Shizuo cocked an eyebrow. "Who the hell doesn't like rabbits?"

Nene seemed to shrink in fear. "When I was little I got chased by this crazy huge rabbit in the woods. I was running for ten minutes before I lost it. It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. Even scarier than the time me and Kimi got jumped when we first came to 'Bukuro and Simon had to come save us."

Shizuo let out a short burst of genuine laughter. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

The horrible memories of what her mother had christened 'The Bunny Incident' had resurfaced and turned her into a loose cannon.

"Your face is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she muttered darkly.

"_Eh_?" ground Shizuo. Without thinking he grabbed a fistful of her t-shirt and yanked her up to his face. "What was that?"

Nene blinked at him with her dark brown eyes that were almost black. The smell of raspberries was stronger than ever this close and he could see that he'd been right, her lips were plump if chapped. Why did he feel so light-headed?

"Your breath smells like vanilla," she said dumbly, eyes flickering to his mouth. "Must be the ice cream."

Shizuo made a strangled noise in his throat, maybe in agreement and leaned closer. Head tilting slightly.

"Leave her alone!"

Their heads simultaneously snapped round to look at the source of the noise. The little boy from earlier was standing in front of them, trembling in the middle of the boulevard, his fists curled tightly at his sides.

Shizuo instantly released Nene, feeling a mixture of regret and relief.

"I'm gonna call the zoo police!" shouted the boy.

"Hey, calm down," Shizuo said gently. "I'm not hurting her."

"It's true," Nene said quickly.

Shizuo got up and walked over to the little boy, who instinctively stepped back lifting his fists up in front of him protectively. Nene saw that he was a bit rounder than most kids his age.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Shizuo said, kneeling down beside him and placing his hand on the kid's head. "What's your name kid?"

"You say your name first!" the boy half shouted, puffing his chest.

"My name's Shizuo-" Shizuo tilted his head back at Nene. "-That's Nene."

Nene lifted her hand up and gave a quick wave. The boy visibly relaxed.

"My name's Kenji and I'm seven," he said loudly. Nene wondered if he was partially deaf.

Shizuo smiled. Nene had seen him smile many times before, usually wryly, but it was different somehow, confident, reassuring. "That's cool. I'm eighteen."

Kenji crossed his arms over his chest and looked expectantly towards Nene .

"Oh right," said Nene. "Seventeen."

"Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kenji asked, glaring at Shizuo.

Nene was suddenly very interested in her shoes.

Shizuo scratched the top of his head. "We're friends."

"Hey lady!" shouted Kenji.

Nene made a mental note to tell his teacher that he needed to go to the clinic to get his ears checked. "Yeah?"

"Do you like grape juice?"

Nene shrugged. "It's okay," she said, totally confused. It was clear that this girl had had very little contact with younger children in the past.

"I like grape juice," said Kenji, twiddling his thumbs in front of him.

"That's… cool?" said Nene, glancing at Shizuo for some sign of what she should do. She was still sitting on the bench with her hands folded on her lap like a lemon. Shizuo just raised his eyebrow at her like she was the biggest idiot he'd ever seen.

"So Kenji, where's the rest of your group?" asked Shizuo, steering the conversation away from Nene, much to her relief.

"They went to the petting zoo and I don't like the petting zoo so I stayed behind with Satou-sensei," Kenji said, pointing to a bench a little further down the boulevard where an elderly lady with bifocals the size of apples was feeding some pigeons.

"Why don't you like the petting zoo?" asked Shizuo.

"Because- because of the guinea pigs," said Kenji, blushing slightly. "The other kids make fun of me for being scared. But guinea-pigs are evil!"

Of course, Nene hadn't expected Shizuo to laugh at the little boy's irrational fears like he had done Nene's, but she couldn't help but feel a pinch of annoyance at the way he was nodding sympathetically .

"Hm… Nene doesn't like the petting zoo either," said Shizuo.

Kenji looked at Nene with wide curious eyes. "How come lady?"

"I don't like rabbits," explained Nene. At least the kid would understand-

"Rabbits are so _cute_. That's stupid."

"Your face is stupid!" Nene shouted.

No one ever would ever understand her fear of rabbits, no one! One time, Kimi went so far as to buy a rabbit and let it roam free in the house just to scare the shit out of Nene whenever she came over.

"Yeah well you look like an ugly wrinkly old man!" Kenji shouted right back.

"You look like a little girl!"

"Least one of us does," Kenji said smugly, sticking out his tongue. "UH-GLEE!"

Nene's lips pursed into a tight, demented smile as she stood up from the bench and strode away.

"Where are you going?" Shizuo inquired, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

Nene ignored him and continued walking aimlessly down the boulevard, past the spider monkeys flinging their poop and past the koalas sliding down tree branches before unceremoniously dropping to the ground. Soon enough, Shizuo was beside her, though she refused to acknowledge his presence.

Truth be told, she was afraid that if she got into a dialogue with him he'd tell her how utterly disappointed he was in her for being so bad with kids. With guys like Shizuo who were natural older brothers to almost all children, loving kids was the equivalent to a deal breaker and Nene didn't have a maternal bone in her body. Even Kimi was better with little kids than her, with her charming personality and universally attractive appearance. It also helped that she was from a large family and had a plethora of younger cousins to practice with. When kids saw Nene, they usually just ran away, as if they sensed her incompetence from her blank, stupid gaze.

"Oi idiot," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "Stop acting like a baby."

"I'm not good with kids," said Nene, shrugging. "Never have been."

"Don't know about that," said Shizuo, gesturing behind them, an indecipherable half-smile on his lips.

Nene glanced round and saw Kenji trailing behind them. He immediately redirected his eyes to his shoes.

"Why?" Nene paused and turned to Kenji, glaring at him suspiciously. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm following Shizu-nii not you ugly!" he yelled back defensively.

Nene eye twitched. "You're annoying! Just go away."

"FINE!" roared Kenji, his face scrunched up like he was trying not to cry, before running off in the opposite direction.

Nene could feel Shizuo's eyes boring into her as she watched after the little boy.

"Now what?" she asked without looking at him.

His response was to tap her spine with two fingers and though it looked gentle, because Shizuo's strength behind it, she was propelled forward a good few yards. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he gave her a look that said 'Don't come back up until you've made it right or I'll kick your butt.'

"Fine," Nene grumbled, kicking a nearby pebble and trudging after Kenji.

Nene found him with his face pressed against the fence for the gibbons' enclosure not too far off, glaring at nothing in particular.

She knew Shizuo was watching them, and while she should have been eager impress, she had the crazy urge to do the exact opposite.

According to Nene's grandmother, no matter how many sweets and chocolates she tried to stuff down her gob, it could never make up for what a bitter, mean-spirited little girl she was. In her defence, she had been five years old when she started to notice how flawed her parent's marriage was and being five years old, she hadn't yet learned that words could hurt people, even if they were honest. Because sometimes no matter how innocent the intention behind them, they held up a mirror to people's faces and most of the time the reflection inside it was less than flattering. Her grandmother wasn't the first person to take offence to Nene's scorpion tongue and she wasn't the last either.

Soon enough, Nene learned to keep her mouth shut but from there, inevitably, grew bitterness.

To this day she fantasised about kicking her maternal grandmother's cane out from underneath her.

Ever since Izaya had held up the mirror to Nene's face, paranoia had been eating away at her. A pure-hearted person like Shizuo couldn't love someone like her, whose petty vindictive nature was just waiting for the right trigger to throw a spray of shrapnel all over everyone's lives.

Her way of dealing with Kimi was a good example. Whenever Kimi got into a heated argument, Nene's instinctual reaction would usually be to take out her phone, start playing snake and switch off until the storm had died down. She told herself that it was because she hated confrontation, because she was a coward, but was that the whole truth?

Sure, if she could stop Kimi before she got worked up, Nene would, but more than once, she'd felt as if the people Kimi was arguing with deserved what they got. Most of them were either jealous or simply unsettled by the fact that they didn't know how to react to someone so unabashedly arrogant. If they wanted to pick a fight with the young heiress then they would have to deal with the consequences.

In the end, Nene was just not that nice. On the bus she only gave her seat up to the elderly and disabled because if she didn't she would probably get an earful and crocodile tears most definitely didn't tug on her heart strings.

She knew that if she slapped a sugary smile on her face and made nice with this little boy who she'd rather kick in the shins, she would only be doing it for Shizuo. To make him like her.

"Are you okay lady?"

A carton of grape juice had been thrust out in front of her by Kenji, who looked abashedly to the side. She hadn't realised how long she'd been standing there staring into space.

"Thank you," she said, taking the grape juice and popping the tab, her brow furrowing.

"Why do you look so sad?" Kenji asked, eyes round with worry. "Did niisan hit you again? Want me to beat him up?"

She snorted, leaning against the fence and sipping on the carton. "You could try but you'd probably get killed."

"No way, I could totally do it!" exclaimed Kenji.

"He didn't hit me," clarified Nene.

"Then why do you look so sad?"

Nene checked behind her to see what Shizuo was doing, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Heh, and I was so worried about what he would think._

"Hey lady you like niisan right?"

Nene's head cracked round. "What?"

"You stare at him the way my mum stares at the postman," Kenji said sagely.

Nene choked a little on the grape juice.

"I don't like him," Nene stated once she'd collected herself. If a seven year old could tell she liked Shizuo, then all was lost.

"Mairu says mummy has _seck-shu-wal_ feelings for him, the postman not Shizu-nii. I don't even know what those are but if you look at Shizu-nii that way then you must have _seck-shu-wal _feelings too," Kenji explained as if it was the most logical thing in the whole world.

Maybe she could climb up the fence and feed herself to the gibbons. Or better yet the lions. That way her death would be would be quick-

"Wait… did you say Mairu, as in Orihara Mairu?" Nene asked, momentarily putting aside the fact that a seven year old had just accused her of having indecent thoughts about Shizuo.

"Yeah, Mairu and Kururi are in my group. They're the ones that made fun of me for being afraid of guinea-pigs!" Kenji moaned dejectedly. "They're always making fun of me and calling me fat and trying to roll me down hills. They're so mean! I hate them!"

"Ignore them," Nene said offhandedly, trying to calculate whether Izaya's twin sisters being around, was going to be a problem. "It's just baby fat. You'll lose it as you get older."

"I'm not a baby!"

"That's not what I said."

"I'm seven years old," Kenji said with a harrumph.

"I know."

Nene sucked the grape juice carton bone dry until it was a crumpled piece of card in her hand, then tossed it in the nearby bin and walked off.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Shizuo-san."

"Can I come?" He knit his eyebrows together and stuck his lips out in a convincing, heart-breaking pout. "_Please_?"

"No."

The little boy admitted defeat, his shoulders slumping as he trod away in the direction of his teacher. As these two mismatched people drifted in opposite directions, Nene couldn't help but give him one last look. She watched Kenji's short, hunched form, projecting a round blob of shadow behind him in the orange glow of the sun and she felt an odd sense of nostalgia. Kids could be cruel, especially kids with the Orihara name attached to them and no matter how annoying Kenji had been, Nene couldn't honestly say that she had hated talking to him. It had reminded her of when she and Kimi were kids. They always used to get into stupid fights.

"You can come if you want," Nene called to him, "but get permission from your teacher first."

Sighing, Nene waited and allowed the small dough ball to sprint over to his teacher, who showed more concern for the pigeons than for her student, then back up to her before continuing her gait with an unlikely companion.

* * *

In the shade of a large tourist information centre, Shizuo bit a neglected cigarette from the carton and lit it. Most of the areas in the zoo prohibited smoking so he decided to take the chance while Nene was making amends to find a place to feed his addiction.

He had started smoking shortly after he started High School, much to the displeasure of his family, but with the increasing gang violence aimed towards him, it was probably the only thing other than Kasuka or milk that could reel him in. Every little bit counts, he thought, being careful to blow the smoke away from any of the school children coming off the nearby monorail.

A smirk quirked his lips as he thought about Nene dealing with Kenji. A blind man could see that she wasn't good with kids, probably because she was kind of a brat herself, but Shizuo decided he didn't mind. Maybe it was because he found her childish outbursts more amusing than annoying; she would get all flustered and start to ramble, sometimes she'd even forget to breathe.

However, there _was_ that time when they were standing outside Russia Sushi… now that was annoying. What was wrong with her? Casually talking about Shishizaki peeking at her while she was changing, was she totally dense? Shizuo felt angry just thinking about it. If it was anyone else, he would have gone over and punched them into the next dimension, but luckily he knew from experience that Shishizaki wasn't a twisted pervert. On the other hand, Nene hadn't known Shishizaki for that long and she shouldn't have just assumed that he wasn't a twisted pervert. The idiot was too trusting for her own good.

"For fuck sake," grumbled Shizuo, chucking the cigarette butt to the ground and snatching another. The packet wasn't going to last long if it carried on like this.

Still, he enjoyed listening to her talk about wing spans and average sleep-wake cycles, the hunting tactics of the barn owl or the hiding tactics of the field mouse. Most of all he enjoyed the way her face would light up whenever Shizuo would ask questions, like she was both shocked and pleased to find that he'd actually been paying attention.

This time the cigarette lasted a bit longer.

Usually when he thought about the kind of girl he wanted to end up with, because even Heiwajima Shizuo had those thoughts, he always imagined her as being soft spoken, kind-hearted and always wearing a warm smile. She would enjoy baking and volunteering at soup kitchens and Shizuo would never get angry at her because she never did anything to make him angry. He always thought of himself as having pretty simple tastes.

Recently however, that image had started to alter into a scruffy, awkward girl who ate like a pig, had the tendency to put her foot in her mouth and piss him off with her shit taste in men.

"Hey that's him! That punk from Raijin High!"

Shizuo's smirk grew more rueful. Nene wasn't perfect but neither was he. If she accepted him for all of his flaws, the least he could do was do the same for her. Even if one of those flaws carried a switchblade and tried to fuck up his life every five minutes.

"The one that beat up Lee's gang last week?"

And if she was going to insist on throwing herself head first into dangerous situations, to protect unworthy assholes then he had no choice but to protect her from her dumb self.

"Oi you! You're Heiwajima Shizuo right?"

Shizuo shaded his eyes and peered at the owner of the voice. The guy, let's call him Tattoo Face, was clearly trying to look dangerous, what with the shaved head and the tattoos on his face. Around him there were several other guys dressed similarly in leather jackets and a couple of girls that were probably their girlfriends slash groupies.

A vein throbbed in Shizuo's head just looking at them. Turning away, he took another drag of his cigarette and pretended he was on an island far away.

The girlfriends started tittering to themselves and Tattoo Face turned an angry shade of red. Hit by a surge of testosterone, he strode up to Shizuo and stabbedthe blonde's chest with his index finger.

"Don't ignore me you piece of shit. Not unless you want my boys to break your fucking spine."

Shizuo looked down at the finger and then at TF. A dangerous aura started to resonate from him, making the air around them dense, difficult to breathe in, like they were in a sauna. TF took away his finger and retreated, his knees knocking together.

"I'm in a pretty good mood today," Shizuo said with a threatening smile. "So I'll let you off... if you say sorry."

"Fuh-fucking Psycho, you have no idea who you're talking t-to," spat the punk. "We'll fuh-fucking kill you."

Shizuo grabbed TF by his neck and effortlessly tossed him into a nearby bush. The punk was too shocked to even yell out, but the crowds that had started to gather around them weren't.

"You son of a bitch!"

"We'll kill you!"

Shizuo snapped his cigarette in half and crushed it under his foot. "Tch, you morons never seem to learn," he growled.

The group of delinquents charged forwards in one mad rush, some with their fists raised in the air to strike, others pulling out concealed weapons from under their jackets.

One guy stupidly decided to take Shizuo on from the front, but was simply sidestepped. Shizuo stuck his arm and caught the guy's neck in a classic clothes-line manoeuvre. The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Meanwhile, another one, whose hair was dyed a light shade of blonde had rushed up on Shizuo's left flank and swung a crowbar round. Catching it in his hand, Shizuo bent it easily, and then, letting out one ferocious roar, punched his opponent square in the dumbstruck face, knocking him at least thirty feet away.

Then there was another. Shizuo stuffed him in a trash can.

And another. He sent him flying so high in the air that he turned into a speck. Who knows what happened to him? Heaven forbid he landed in one of the cages.

Another… somehow ended up crashing through the window of the recently vacated Tourist Information kiosk.

And another, and another and another. There was no fucking end to them.

"YOU WANNA DIE!"

Punch, punch, dodge, kick…

Instinct had taken over Shizuo. A fiery rage thundering in his head.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LET ME LIVE IN PEACE HUUUUUUH?!"

One guy tore his shirt open with a switchblade, and it was all too reminiscent of that flea. Shizuo snapped his wrist like a twig, the knife falling to a clatter on the ground and head-butted him unconscious.

Kick, throw, punch, punch, punch, punch, punch…

When it was over, Shizuo was standing in the middle of a circle of scattered unconscious bodies, bordered by a crowd of amazed onlookers. He was panting, not because he was out of breath or tired, but because of the adrenaline rush.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he decided to get out of there before someone called security, though usually that never happened. The public were either too afraid or awe-struck when Shizuo let loose, like they'd witnessed one of their most aberrant dreams crossing over into reality for a rare few seconds.

Still, while they may have been awestruck, they were by no means paralysed. Upon his approach, the crowd parted like the red sea, giving him a wider than necessary berth. Schooling his face into indifference, he walked through, trying to ignore all the faces staring at him like he was a dangerous new arrival to the zoo.

Then he heard something, her voice, bridging the gap between them and him.

"Wait! Wait Shizuo-san!"

Shizuo paused, cocked his head round and saw Nene pushing her way through the crowd trying to get to him, the people surrounding her staring at her like she was crazy. There was a small hand attached to her hip and on closer inspection, Shizuo saw that it was connected to Kenji.

_Looks like they made nice_, Shizuo thought absently to himself.

They reached him soon enough since the crowd quickly realised who it was Nene was running towards and speedily let her through.

"That was so cool!" Kenji exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Shizuo grunted, but his senses were still being tickled by a nasty stench that had remained long after the fight. That hadn't been just one gang. By Shizuo's count there were at least three and it definitely wasn't a coincidence that they all happened to be hanging out at the zoo at the same time, on the day that Shizuo just happened to be there. He'd been set up.

Nene was thinking the same thing as she carefully studied the numerous bodies strung about the park, some of whom had stood up and waddled away to safety, others whose hysterical girlfriends were running around like headless chickens. The bystanders were starting to disperse, although some whose lives had been touched by such an astonishing display of strength lingered in case of a second act. Two of them, just happened to be twin girls, aged seven.

"We should head home," Nene suggested worriedly, having caught sight of them prodding one of the gang member's with their feet. A second later Mairu had pounced on his stomach and was jumping up and down. Nene cringed. "Kenji, you should head back to your teacher before she starts to worry."

Though Kenji was reluctant to leave, he bowed, sensing that now was not the right time to argue, and scampered off.

It was only two o'clock, thought Shizuo, and he'd already fucked up their day out. Excellent.

Without so much as cursory glance in Nene's direction, he headed to the exit.

He felt cold, as if dealing out punishment on those scum had exerted so much energy that they'd burned him out. The sensation coursing through his insides was similar to a cold Slurpee slowly making its way down his throat and into his stomach. It wouldn't be long now, he thought, trying to force himself to accept fate; she would come to her senses and run away.

"Shizuo-san you don't look too well," she enquired worriedly after they'd gotten past the barriers.

"Hn."

"Are you cold?"

"…"

Dashing in front of him, Nene forced him to stop right in the middle of the boulevard.

Shizuo shot her a frustrated look.

"I apologise in advance," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"What the-"

Then she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly.

An elderly man passing by winked at Shizuo, but Shizuo was too busy trying to figure out where to put his hands to notice. Right now they were just hovering in no-man's land behind her shoulders.

Her body shifted just slightly and a shiver ran through Shizuo. Fuck it, he told himself, and curled his arms around her shoulders, gently bringing her closer.

"I was wrong," said Nene. "Shizuo-san's very warm."

"Hm."

"I'm always warm. Kimi-chan says that all my fat reserves heat me up, but she's just jealous because my boobs are bigger than hers," she explained in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Cue Shizuo becoming hyper-aware of her breasts pressing against him. To remedy this, he grabbed her by the shoulders and put her at arm's length, immediately regretting his decision when she gazed up at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"You always say awkward things," Shizuo answered.

"Only when I'm nervous," Nene explained, looking over at another couple leaning against a tree and making out. "It's like I get verbal diarrhoea. Normally I'm a very quiet person."

Shizuo's expression darkened. "You keep saying that."

"Saying what?"

"That you're a quiet person," Shizuo snapped. "It's annoying. You're more interesting when you talk so you shouldn't be ashamed that you have something to say. Okay?"

Shizuo glared at her expectantly and she hastily nodded her head.

"You can talk to me whenever you want. I'll listen."

She nodded again.

"But stay away from topics like mating habits, the flea… or breasts," he instructed.

"Specifically my breasts or all breasts in general."

Shizuo shot her a warning look.

"Breasts in general it is."

"You wanna get beaten up?"

"Shizuo-san wouldn't beat me up," Nene said confidently. "Kimi-chan wouldn't let you hear the end of it."

"Tch."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Mwahaha I know the bulletins at the top of the chapters are lame... but they make me feel like I'm on a TV show so humour me! XD

Hope you guys don't think the chapter went on too long, I think I was just indulging in writing some lovey-dovey-ish scenes for once. Zii date shall be reach its conclusion in the next chapter… whenever that shall be. Haha! I'm kidding...

So I've introduced Shishizaki in these chapters. For those who haven't read the Light novels, he's mentioned in them as having gone to school at the same time as Izaya, Shizuo and Shinra and getting tangled up a lot in their fights. If you want to read up about him just Google him, they have a Durarara wiki entry about him. He's not going to be a romantic interest for Nene, otherwise it'll seem like she's got some sort of harem going on O_O I know some writers, myself included, sometimes fall into pitfalls of having all the female characters loved by all the male characters, but to be fair there are few major female cannon characters in Durarara that can be mentioned in the Raijin days. Anyway, I needed Nene to learn martial arts and since Dennis and Simon are pacifists, Shishizaki seemed like the best fit.

Also, I know I've got quite a few OCs hanging about, but it feels unrealistic having Nene really close/connected with all of the Ikebukuro cannon characters. But don't worry, I definitely intend to keep the focus on Shizuo and Izaya. As the story timeline gets closer to the cannon, I'll write more of the cannon characters.

Kenji's not at all going to be a major character. I think I was just indulging myself in a little Nene awkwardness. In fact, you could probably say that the last three chapters were pretty much me just enjoying not writing tense, mind-fuck scenes for once. Also that means Izaya won't be around for a little while longer. Well he'll be around, because he's always around doing messed up shit in the background, but you know what I mean.

If you guys think anything doesn't work please let me know via review/pm and I'll try and change it. Everyone needs an outside perspective. Btw Chapters 10 and 11 haven't been beta'd yet so I'll prolly be replacing them with a proper proof-read versions later. Don't worry, as usual I'll let you guys know if I change anything major.

Next couple of chapters will take a while to come out unfortunately, because it's where all the clusterfuck action begins... yay for sad depressing scenes :( But I've started my Summer holidays so I'll try and do as much as I can.

I hope you enjoyed the chapters! Thanks for reading.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Thanks to all of the readers for all of your support, the reviews, favourites, alerts and pms. You're the reason I keep going with this. Enjoy the chapter. A bit short, but working on the next one._

**Break You**

**Chapter 12**

Stalkers are unstable creatures. They are often unaware that they are stalking. Unaware that their love goes unrequited. They will go to unimaginable lengths to attain that which they seek. Oblivious to all of the suffering they cause. It is not in their nature to be cruel, but to want too passionately, more destructively than those whose inhibitions have kept them in check. Stalkers are creatures to be pitied, never suffered.

Unfortunately, pity is often mistaken for love.

The crust that had glued his eyes together fell away as the world started to come back into focus. His tongue felt rubbery in his mouth, like it didn't belong.

"Nurse! Hey Nurse!" a familiar voice shouted. He felt a pressure on the side of him. "He's awake."

A smiling face slid into view.

"Fuck man. I was starting to think you weren't ever gonna wake up."

"K-k-"

"Don't strain yourself. You've been out for months. It'll probably be a while before you can speak."

"Kh-Kimi."

* * *

Sharp grey eyes followed her as she entered the foyer.

"I didn't expect to see you here on your day off," the immaculate shit remarked with obvious suspicion.

Kimi didn't break stride. Flashing her key card against the sensor, she paused before the doors as they opened. "Is Yagiri-san in?"

"Yagiri-san is showing around the partners and has asked not to be disturbed."

"Where is she?"

"She has asked not to be disturbed," he repeated tersely.

Kimi held her hand over the inner frame to prevent the doors from sliding back together and turned her head towards him. "I have something important that I need to give her."

"Leave it with me. I'll make sure she gets it," he said with a smile, standing up and stretching out his hand in a beckoning way.

"This is for Yagiri-san's eyes only," she said, her grip tightening around her briefcase handle.

"Trust works both ways Toyoshima-san."

It was the kind of smile you would liken to a ventriloquist's dummy. A prickle ran up her spine and she made a note to keep her guard up around him in future.

Before he could say anything else, Kimi saw Yagiri Namie exiting one of the display laboratories. Display, because they were used to appease the investors, while underground, deep in the basement levels the more controversial experiments were kept under lock and key. She was dressed formally, sans the lab coat and donning a skirt suit, and Kimi could see why. Yagiri Seitarou, the CEO was her fellow shepherd herding the group of primly dressed suits towards the elevators.

What a foolish oversight, she thought to herself. She should have left the task till later in the week when the security would be more lax.

"Yagiri-san!" she called, figuring it would be better to get it over with now. As she sprinted towards them, her colourful reflection danced cross the burnished floors.

Both Yagiris turned around. Namie gestured for the rest of her group to go on up with a cold but deferential smile and when they had left it fell away completely.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak with you," Kimi said, her eyes darting round to scan for potential eavesdroppers.

"Regarding what?"

Leaning in, Kimi lowered her voice to a whisper. "I found some discrepancies in the reports. Looks like you were right about a rat."

Namie's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Reaching out, she pushed the button and called for another elevator.

"Wait for me in my office. Do not speak to anyone else," she commanded simply before entering the elevator. "I'll be with you as soon as I'm finished."

Kimi walked back towards the office. It would be a kindness to call what she was about to do reprehensible. But it wasn't like she had a choice. A noose was tied around her neck and Izaya's foot was pressed dangerously against the stool that she stood on, rocking it back and forth. There was nothing she could do short of running home and crying to daddy, but even then…

She had seen first-hand the things that went on in this facility. What she was about to do may have been reprehensible but the building's bleach saturated walls masked something deeply wicked.

As she sat opposite Yagiri Namie and fed her the reports Izaya had handed her that morning incriminating one of the researchers she wondered: Had the human race had evolved to the extent that they were now capable of discarding their own humanity?

The researcher in question had been selling some of their prototypes under the table to competing organisations, giving cause to their highest margin of loss since Namie's appointment at the company.

A morbid thought came to Kimi as the robot-woman lifted the phone from its cradle and began dialling off on the man's death warrant.

By throwing this faceless man under the bus, all she had done was supply a temporary speed bump. One day the bus would reach Kimi, and when it did she only prayed that she could drag Izaya down along with her.

* * *

There was hardly anybody on the bus on their way home that night.

Nene pulled Shizuo's coat tighter around her, careful not to give in to the primal urge to sniff it. Why Kimi called her creepy, she would never know. Shizuo was sitting next to her, one hand thrown carelessly behind her seat, head tilted back as he drifted in and out of sleep.

_You're more interesting when you talk._

Nene pressed her hands to her reddening cheeks and snuck a glance at the blonde whose eyelids were fluttering despite his best efforts to keep them open. She would have told him to go ahead and take a nap, enticed by the prospect of getting to watch him sleep but their stop was coming up soon.

The thought of leaving him at the end of their date was more depressing than anticipated.

Shizuo stirred, his mouth opening wide to release a yawn. He turned his head and regarded her through half-lidded eyes.

What had started out as a harmless crush had quickly gotten out of control, to the point where she no longer knew how to categorise her feelings. For so long, she had been watching him from afar and now he was within her reach. Just like that, she could touch him, run her fingers over his face…

As if aware of the path her mind was heading down, the bus lurched on a pothole causing the lights to glare off the bracelet. She should have taken it off a long time ago. Dropped it down the sink hole or pawned it. Her dad may have been a thief, but he had decent taste. It would have fetched enough for a new uniform.

Then why couldn't she bring herself to?

"Our stop's next," she told him, tugging her sleeve over the bracelet.

"Hmm," he grunted.

Despite the intensity of his gaze, she continued to stare back, goosebumps rising along her arms and thighs.

"What?" he asked.

"Shizuo-san…"

She trailed off, eyes drifting to the lazy smile curling his lips.

"Ah… you don't have to be so formal," he said.

"Shizuo-kun-"

His face fell.

"Shizuo-" she blurted out, stopping herself before she could add –sama on the end of it.

"Better."

The tyres scuffed the kerb as the bus staggered to a wheezing halt. The two teenagers hopped onto the street one after the other and Nene began leading the way back to her flat.

"Thanks again for walking me home… _Shizuo_." She pressed her lips together.

"Yeah well, my brother's always saying how you shouldn't let girls walk home alone at night," said the blonde, fondness slipping into his voice.

"Mm."

It had always felt strange to listen to people's stories about their brothers or sisters, like an unspoken distance was being opened up between them, one she couldn't traverse. No matter what, family would always come first with others. It was the same for Shizuo.

For whom did she come first? For whom did she evoke such fondness?

"What?" Shizuo probed, concerned by her clipped answer.

But it wasn't the same for Izaya, said a traitorous little voice in her head. He was not fond of his little sisters, but then again, he wasn't fond of anyone in particular. Including her.

"Oi!"

"A-ah, sorry, I was just thinking about how it must be nice to have an older sibling who looks out for them," Nene answered hurriedly. "The way you do for your little brother."

The comment seemed to embarrass Shizuo and he didn't speak again for a while.

Her lapse in sanity passed and she was left again with the fear that, like a dream one woke up from in the middle of the night, this day would slip from their memory and she would be left clinging to the feeling.

At the bottom of the steps leading up to her flat, Nene shrugged off Shizuo's coat and held it out for him to take.

"I had a really great time today, Shizuo," she said brightly. While she wasn't lying, the emotion in her voice was almost painfully false. She didn't want to go back inside to a poorly heated residence and a bed with broken springs on which she would lie awake for most of the night thinking about him.

Shizuo didn't notice, taking the coat as if on auto-pilot and dangling it absentmindedly at his side.

She waited for him to say something, at least a goodbye if nothing else. Soon the knot in her stomach would be jutting out like a hernia.

Finally, when she felt like she was about to burst, Shizuo spoke.

"You working tomorrow?" he asked, scratching his forehead.

"Uh yeah."

"What time you finish?"

"Seven, why?"

Once again, he was looking at her with that straight-forward expression of his. "So I can pick you up."

Nene stared at him. "What for?" she questioned.

"It's pretty dangerous round here," he explained. "You shouldn't be walking home alone at night."

"Don't you have finals this week?"

His eyebrow started to twitch. "... Your point is?"

"In that case, just focus on doing well. Please don't worry about me," she said with an encouraging smile.

"How do you expect me not to worry when you've got such a stupid expression on your face?" he muttered, leaning down slightly so that he was at eye level, hands thrust stubbornly in his pockets.

"Stupid expression?"

"There." He tapped the little crease, which had had appeared between her eyebrows. "One look at that dumb face and every mugger in the Kanto region would come running."

"That's not true-"

"You were attacked the first day you came to 'Bukuro," Shizuo stated dryly.

"That was years ago! And I've gotten a lot stronger since then."

"Uh-huh."

"Shouldn't you be studying anyway?" she huffed childishly.

A dusting of pink settled on his cheeks and he averted his eyes. "There's no point studying if you can't even get through the exam," he muttered.

Nene had assumed as much. Examinations were stressful for average students so she could guess how Shizuo, with his temper, dealt with them. In her head she envisioned a sea of desks, in the centre of which sat one lone blonde head twitching and shivering with spasms of anger only half-restrained. Then one tremendous roar as a wave of chairs and people flew into the air and all hell broke loose.

"If you want, I could help you," she suggested, licking her chapped lips. "Kimi's had to do a lot of anger management related stuff in the past so I know some techniques that help with relaxation."

A pessimistic smirk contorted Shizuo's face. "Like counting to ten?"

His breath hitched at the change in her eyes.

"Please don't put yourself down," she requested sternly. "If you give up before you've even tried, you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

"Mm, yeah, you're right," he muttered, raking his hair back with his fingers. Why did it feel so hot? "…Sorry."

Her expression softened. "You can come inside and I can show you some basics now," she offered tentatively. "When's your first exam?"

"Tomorrow," he mumbled as they walked up the stairs together.

"That's really irresponsible of you Shizuo," Nene said in a bland voice.

"Oh yeah? Then if I'm irresponsible then it's only fair that you share half the blame."

"Why do I share half the blame?"

"Because I'm with you."

It was good that Nene was not suffering from any congenital heart diseases otherwise she would have dropped dead that instant.

* * *

Kimi peered at Nene over the rim of her cup through trails of steam.

"Relaxation techniques hmm?"

"You know, the ones Mai-sensei taught you."

"After four years that stupid cow finally proves her usefulness."

It was expected to be a busy night for Russia Sushi. Simon was out on deliveries, Dennis was in the back unpacking deliveries of unlabelled boxes filled with exotic meats leaving Shishizaki to go out on flyer duty, and Nene in charge of the store front.

"Actually… Shizuo ended up breaking the desk."

"Not your beloved desk," Kimi said with mock horror.

"I have a knife Kimi-chan."

"What happened after he broke your beloved desk?"

"He broke the lamp."

This time, Kimi's expression really did fall. "The lamp _I _bought you."

"Yes…"

"That was the first gift I ever gave you," Kimi exclaimed belligerently. "I'll fucking kill that bastard."

"He apologised… once he'd calmed down."

Kimi slammed he cup of tea down. "Unforgivable! You loved lamp."

Nene was glad that her back was to Kimi as she sliced up strips of salmon so she didn't have to hide the wry smile that had sprung to her lips. 'Avant-garde' was the term Kimi had used to describe the copper monstrosity when Nene had hauled it out of its monochrome gift box three Christmases ago. At first, she'd tried to keep it out of sight but then Kimi started asking questions.

Hey, where's the lamp I bought you?

Why is it in the cupboard?

Don't you like it? It's Avant-garde.

Well, if there's no space on your desk why don't you get rid of some of that useless crap?

See, now doesn't your room look more stylish?

For three years it had stared at Nene from its corner on her desk, glowing the obnoxious orange of traffic cones through the piles of clothes she attempted to bury it underneath. Three years… until three days ago a blonde haired angel had flown into a fury and smashed it to pieces with his fist. Albeit alongside her beloved desk. God, she was feeling teary just thinking about it.

"He did offer to replace it," said Nene, tone softening to placation, although she was probably trying to reassure herself just as well.

"I bought it at an auction for 500,000 yen!"

"I know," Nene said, and she did. "He felt really bad though."

"Fuck his feelings," snapped Kimi, flinging her briefcase open and yanking out her phone. "Why couldn't you have fallen in love with someone nice and normal like Shin?"

"Shin is gay."

"You sure? He seemed to enjoy it when I let him get to second base in first year."

"That's probably because of your boyish physique. What are you doing?"

"I'm emailing the insurance company," Kimi grumbled, furiously punching away at her phone.

Nene swung round. "Would they uh, would they be able to replace it, do you think?"

"Of course not," Kimi snapped viciously, "it was a one-of-a-kind Kazuhiro Genpei!"

"Oh _no_."

"I'm trying to see if we can get anything back on the homeowner's policy. What set Heiwajima off this time anyway?"

"Non-finite verbs," Nene said absentmindedly, sprinkling condiments onto the sashimi. "He tore his textbook in half. Luckily I was able to convince the librarian to lend him another one so he'll still have time to study them before the test tomorrow. You know he's not stupid, just has a tough time concentrating and it's not like our school is very understanding. They just hide under their desks until the oil cans stop rolling."

"That so?"

"Mmm, he needs a teacher who's patient, really patient... _Buddha_ patient."

"Like you?"

"I'm not patient."

Kimi snapped her phone shut and stared at Nene. There was a perplexing expression on her face.

"Just make sure to nail down the furniture before he comes over tonight," Kimi quipped dryly, sliding off the barstool.

"Hah. The only other thing left to break is the bed," Nene muttered sourly, recalling the sight of her beloved desk in two pieces by the industrial garbage bins.

The door jangled as Kimi pushed it open. She cocked her head back, a big grin on her face. "Replay that sentence in your head."

Nene threw her head back and groaned.

* * *

She was just as pretty as always. Not a hair out place. Flawless make-up. Armani suit a little worn for wear but still Armani. Looked like she was doing okay. Better than okay, she was laughing. Practically dancing out of the restaurant. Perfection didn't cut it.

From this distance he couldn't see her eyes, but he knew them so well. Thin and dark with flat lashes. She never curled them, never put mascara on them. That would open them up. Make them more expressive. Eyes were the window to the soul and she liked to keep the curtains closed.

Hopping over to a guy standing in the middle of the street doling out flyers, she hit him round the shoulder with her briefcase. The guy turned. Relief first, sheer gladness next. Bowed low and presented a leaflet to her. She crossed her arms over her chest. He didn't relent. Remained bowed. Waiting her out.

But the guy wouldn't succeed. That autocratic superiority that set her apart from every other woman, shining round her like an irradiated halo, meant that she would never surrender.

She took the leaflet, curtseying clumsily with an idiotic expression, which upon realisation, quickly morphed into a mortified cringe.

_Who. The. Fuck. Was. This. Guy._

The guy patted her on the head with his stack of leaflets like she was a fucking dog and instead of shoving him away, instead of rightly stomping on his foot with the pointy end of her heel and fixing him with that infamous petrifying stare of hers, she fucking smiled. Warm like treacle dripping down pancakes.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you Uchida-san."

A pale hand had latched onto Taizo's shoulder. There was no force to it and he could have easily shrugged it off, but it was the voice that stayed him.

"Been a while," Taizo mumbled, staring hollowly into the brown eyes of the up-and-coming informant. "You're looking a little anaemic Izaya, try some iron supplements."

"Ahahah I'll keep that in mind."

"Kenta put you up to this?" he asked, gently removing Izaya's hand. He didn't sound mad, but then he never raised his voice above a mutter.

"I'm amazed at how fast you were able to find Kimi-san… since you only just got out of your coma three days ago."

"I got a guy who's been keeping an eye on her for me, but I guess you already knew that."

"Ogawa Kamei. Poor man has an unhealthy addiction to gambling."

Taizo chuckled softly. "Hm, guess I should go talk to him after this. But if you don't mind, I gotta deal with something here."

"I completely understand," said Izaya, watching Taizo march stiffly towards the pedestrian crossing, "but Shishizaki is a Hachidan in Judo and Uchida-san has just escaped from the hospital after spending two months in a coma. The outcome is predictable, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah. But I can't just do nothing when some asshole's on my girl y'know," Taizo said, pausing and resting his shoulder on the wall for a few seconds. Just a few, to catch his breath.

"Do you really want your first meeting with Kimi-san after all this time to end so bloodily," Izaya probed sympathetically, sauntering over to Taizo, "after what happened the last time you saw each other?"

That made an impression.

"That was my bad," Taizo muttered, eyes never leaving the object of his desire. "I never should have…"

"'All's fair in love and war'," Izaya sang, a restricted smile on his face. Only humans were capable of coming up with such a selfish, self-destructive philosophy and still manage to pass it off as heroic. But Izaya kept those thoughts to himself. The task of handling Uchida Taizo was as precarious as trying to drink from a glass of water filled to the top.

"Ever loved anyone, Izaya? And not that weird love for the human race shit."

What an asinine question. "Can't say that I have. No one stands out for me, except maybe Shizu-chan and that's only because I wish he had never been born."

"See I hear what you're saying but your eyes are saying something else man," Taizo observed evenly as he stared at his companion.

"Oh really? And what do my eyes say?"

"That you're hiding something," Taizo mumbled dully, drilling his forefinger into a gap in the brick wall, "and sad thing is you don't even know you're doing it."

Not a muscle on Izaya's face moved, not in the slightest.

"I do love Kimi though. More than that asshole. He could never give her what I can give her."

Izaya had to agree. Shishizaki would never hire a group of thugs to beat the shit out of his girlfriend just so that he could swoop in at just the right moment and save the day.

"I would do anything for Kimi," Taizo stated with the dead-eyed conviction of a neo-Nazi activist.

"So what's the plan?" Izaya mused derisively. "Get knocked into another coma before your bedpan's cold. And every day you lay powerless Shishizaki grows fonder in Kimi-san's heart, until you're just some nameless faceless blob she happened to know when she was going through her rebellious stage. Tragic really."

There was a pause as Taizo chewed a hole in his cheek musing over the other man's words. "Still trying to get into Kenta's good books anyway you can Izaya?"

"I just think you should reconsider confronting Kimi-san until your strength is back, when you can make a better impression."

Taizo watched as she said her goodbyes to Shishizaki and headed off to work. She was at a big pharmaceutical company now earning her own rent, standing on her own two feet while Taizo could barely stay upright.

"I'll let it go for now, while I get back my strength," Taizo said, turning in the opposite direction and walking down the alley.

"Ahh I'm so glad."

"About that kid…" said Taizo, pausing briefly beside Izaya. "_Heiwajima_ _Shizuo_… I've already told Kenta that I don't care about him. You two can do whatever you want but don't expect any help from me. I have to look out for Kimi."

Izaya lowered his head obediently, concealing the smile on his face. Of course Taizo had no interest in Shizuo, all Taizo ever saw was Kimi. But it was Kenta who was in charge of the Gold Room. Kenta whose reputation was on the line not Taizo's.

It was impossible to derail Izaya's plans now. The pieces were in place on the chessboard, primed and ready for him to take a seat and watch the show unfold.

But as usual, Izaya had failed to account for one thing.

Stalkers were unstable creatures. One push in the right direction was all it would take for a disturbing obsession to turn into an explosive force of insanity. That, he knew. But Izaya's hubris had led him to believe that he could still, with enough provision, predict and prepare for Taizo's blast radius.

But Izaya never would have predicted how he would feel when that blast radius hit Akiyama Nene.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Izaya you sonuvabeetch you -.-

It looks like no matter how hard I try, I can't keep Izaya away. I'm not going to say anything about who will/will not be appearing in the next few chapters, because to be honest, they seem to come and go as they please XD

Anyway, the infamous Taizo's awake now. For a while, I've been trying to figure out how to introduce him in all his crazy. The initial plan was to have him _go_ mental after seeing Kimi getting on with life without him. It essentially went like this:

**Taizo:** I'm so hapz to see you again Kimi.

**Kimi:** Lol soz I no love you anymore cos I'm an independent woman. Let's be friends.

**Taizo:** GRR! Fuck you. I'mma go kill Shizuo then. He's clearly to blame for all of this!

**Kenta & Izaya: **Weeeeee

Yeahhh...

So a few chapter ago I realised that seemed a little contrived and a whole new backstory emerged. I shan't give anything else away :D Taizo and Kimi will have a conversation soon enough that should elucidate things. But please feel free to message me about theories in case I've been confusing (which I probably have). Creative Writing workshops have informed me that I can often be really ambiguous and don't explain things well for the readers because I already know what's going on in my head.

I don't have much to say for this chapter, except it's quite short and that's because it felt like the last line served as a natural stopping point. Before there were a few more sections with Shizuo and Nene, but then I cut it out because it seemed too romantic. Pahahahah... sorry...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Shall start writing up the next one properly. Brace yourselves... shit's about to go down. I think...


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Aren't you guys so proud of me, updating before a whole year has passed. Haha. As usual thanks to the readers for all of the support! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter._

**Break You**

**Chapter 13**

Lunch during school hours had become a dull affair for Nene. Since all of the people she usually sat with were gone, she had taken to eating her Russia Sushi leftovers in the office for the Raijin Journal during her lunch hour. Jun would sometimes be there proof-reading and editing articles, but they rarely spoke. Having parents who were both award-winning investigative journalists, Jun harboured an almost unhealthy compulsion to spread the truth like it was a venereal disease. Nene, on the other hand, was bored and happened to have a camera. Their level of repulsion was almost of magnetic.

Unfortunately, term was coming to a close at an alarming rate, meaning that the deadline for the final journal, which was usually twice as long and did a special feature looking back on all the things that had happened that year, was approaching. And since most of the staff had been made up on third-years the momentous task was left almost entirely up to Jun and a handful of second years, who were beginning to crack under the pressure.

"Have you had the photos developed?" Jun asked prissily as she stood over Nene's desk that afternoon.

Nene, who had been browsing online for graduation gifts, lifted her head up from the computer and stared at Jun.

"Which photos?"

Jun's lips pursed into a thin line. "The photos of the third years' final weeks."

Nene yanked open her desk drawer, pulled out an envelope and handed it to a flabbergasted Jun. Nene would never admit it, but screwing with Jun was one of her favourite pastimes, in that sense she wondered if she shared more interests with Izaya than she had originally thought.

As Jun flicked through them, her face morphing from cool apathy, to a faint blushing pink, she handed them back to Nene. "These are… good." They were better than good, and they both knew it. "Have them scanned onto the computer and emailed to me."

Nene yanked open her desk drawer again, pulled out a floppy disk and handed it to Jun, before returning to her browsing.

"Well… thanks," muttered Jun, at loss for words. "You can go home for the night."

Neither of the two had realised, however, that a begrudging respect had begun to grow.

Nene's evenings, after her shift was over, fared better. Shizuo's absence at school was made up for by his insistence to walk her home. It had taken a disgruntled Shishizaki to make her realise that it was just an excuse to spend time with her not that Shizuo thought she was irresponsible and couldn't take care of herself.

"I thought dense people like you only appeared in Shoujo mangas," Shishizaki had dryly quipped. "Soon flowers will start exploding from your bum as you stare longingly into each other's eyes."

Except, every time she entertained thoughts that Shizuo wanted her as more than just a close friend, she remembered how he had turned away from her and since their trip to the zoo he hadn't so much as brushed her arm. It was difficult to believe Shishizaki or Kimi when they said that Shizuo had feelings for her. If she started to believe it and it turned out not to be true… well she didn't know if she would be able to bear it so well a second time.

Every night as she lay in bed, caught in the interim moments between wake and sleep, she told herself this was the reason for her hesitation, the fear of disappointment, unaware that her hand was straying to the bracelet, Izaya's grinning face swimming around her subconscious. She never remembered her dreams after she woke up, but a guilty feeling would be ever-present in the background when she was with Shizuo. It was a strange sensation, like she had gobbled up the last slice of cake without asking if anyone else wanted it.

"You're quiet today," Shizuo remarked as they walked up the steps to her apartment.

"It was really busy tonight," Nene muttered before letting out a big yawn, not bothering to cover her mouth. "Hmm, I've been meaning to ask, how's the job hunt going?"

Shizuo made a face and Nene knew not to press the subject. Letting out another yawn, she opened the door and stepped through, leaving it open for Shizuo to follow her in. After a few paces she turned back, surprised to see him lingering on the porch.

"You're not coming in?" She walked back over to him.

"You should sleep, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, smiling that gentle smile of his and turned to leave.

"Stay," she exclaimed, gripping the side of his coat.

She always hated seeing him go, but this was the first time she had had the courage to stop him. Even if they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, even if he didn't see her that way, she still felt that there was something between them that gave her that right to demand he stay. Maybe it was because it was too early and that if she let him go now, next time he wouldn't come at all.

There was a lot more space in her bedroom now that her beloved desk was gone. She used to have to suck in her stomach and bend six different ways just to get in and out. Now the door swung open unimpeded. She had to admit her heart sunk a little every time she heard that long eerie creak.

Shizuo shut the door behind him, an indecipherable expression on his face. She had seen it several times before, but had yet to crack it, which both frustrated and thrilled her analytical senses. He resumed his usual spot on the bed while Nene flitted about putting their coats and bags away and offering refreshments.

"Still think you should sleep," said Shizuo, watching her warily.

"I will. Anyway, if I go to bed too early I'll mess up my sleeping pattern," she said, plonking down on the desk chair and rubbing her eyes. "Plus, it's Saturday tomorrow so I can sleep in."

"You eat something yet?"

"You really need to stop treating me a kid."

"Can't help it when you act like a brat."

Normally a vein would have popped up on Shizuo's head but the indecipherable expression persisted instead.

"I ate some leftovers at the restaurant," Nene grumbled.

"Hm."

"Would you like to try out some more relaxation techniques?" This was usually her go-to subject whenever she felt things were getting awkward. "Could help you in job interviews," she added meaningfully.

"I'm good," he said tersely.

"Are you-"

"Why don't you come on the bed?"

Nene's mouth hung open. If it were anyone else she would have accused them of being a creep, but it was Shizuo and it was hard to think of him as anything but… pure. In fact, she was starting to feel a little ashamed of the blush that had sprung to her cheeks and the subsequent thoughts that were going through her mind.

Kimi-chan was right, she was a closet pervert.

Not questioning it, because closet perverts took every opportunity they could get, she transferred over to the bed where she sat down cross-legged beside Shizuo. Shizuo caught her off guard when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed her into his side.

"Now sleep."

"I told you-"

"I'll be here when you wake up," he said softly. "So just sleep moron."

Overcome by the warmth, she felt herself being carried away into a guiltless sleep and for the first time in weeks, Izaya was light-years away from her mind.

She had one last thing to say before her eyes closed, something she would forget come morning. But Shizuo would remember. Six years from now he would remember the roughness of her voice as he barely managed to discern the words.

"I wish you could stay forever."

* * *

Nene woke up to find herself half on top of Shizuo, still snoring away. She was surprised at how calm she was, at how natural it felt to have him there. One arm was flung over his eyes and the other was curled around her neck, fingers disappearing underneath her messy snare of locks.

She gently patted his cheek to wake him up, choking when his arm constricted and put her into a headlock.

"Nnnnggg," he groaned, woken up by her flailing fists and muffled gags. Cracking an eye open, he looked down at her and let go. "My bad."

Gasping for breath, her face ruddy with sweat, she fixed him with a look of amazement. "How have your family survived this long?"

"Keep talking and you won't survive the next five minutes," Shizuo growled, but his sleepy voice took all the menace out of it. "What -ugh- time is it?"

"Ten something."

Suddenly Nene's face was being smushed back into his chest by a large, overpowering hand.

"Sleep," he grunted.

So they stayed in bed, Shizuo snoring away, Nene trying and failing to escape from the vice grip around her head. She reasoned that she may as well try to enjoy the warmth while it was there. If they got out of bed, there would be no excuse to be this close. As it was, it was getting harder and harder to convince herself that this was all just platonic. Not that she minded.

When it rolled round to twelve o'clock, Nene's stomach started to grumble and she decided to forcefully wake him up… by poking his eyes. After all, if there was one thing that had to be vulnerable on his body, it would be his eyes.

"Argh," he growled, shooting out of the bed, hands shielding his eyes. "Fuck die fuck."

Shizuo's frenzied bloodshot eyes fixed onto her.

Nene rolled her head round. "It's midday and my neck was getting stiff."

"Nnnnggg…whatever."

"Breakfast?" she suggested, more chipper than usual as she leaped off the bed and bounded out the door.

"Hm."

"There's not much, just some cereal. Neither of us has had the time to go shopping," she told him as she rifled through the kitchen cupboards while Shizuo tried to stay awake on the couch. "There might be some cake around here somewhere. The Landlord's wife is always giving us stuff. I think she feels sorry for us because she thinks we're prostitutes."

Shizuo made a face, but it was too early in the morning to reach over and smack her round the head.

Fist-pumping her triumph when she found the Tupperware box marked Dorayaki, she turned round. A yelp of surprise escaped her, and the box dropped on the floor, opening and spilling its contents.

"Hmm," said Shizuo, cocking his head round to see what happened. "Oh… Yo Shishizaki."

In the middle of their living room/kitchen, Shishizaki stood frozen, a grimace on his face. His hair was sticking up oddly and his clothes were rumbled, especially his shirt, which was half-tucked out.

Not waiting to give either of them a chance to speak, Hajime launched into a garrulous ramble.

"Nene-chan! I didn't realise you were still here hehe, Kimi said that you normally left early to go to the library and _oh _look there's Shizuo. Yay Shizuo. Long time no see. Well that's not true; we saw each other yesterday. Ahah how you doin' Shizuo?"

What Hajime was saying fell into line with things that didn't annoy Shizuo, although the manner in which he spoke them, a particularly high pitched squeal, normally would have. However, since the younger male had just woken up from one of the best sleeps he'd had in a long time (bar the eye-poking) he decided to let it go.

"Good," Shizuo answered.

"Great, great. Wait… did you stay the night?"

There was a pause before the blonde nodded. Nene was too busy staring longingly at the Dorayaki to notice.

"So you two are going out now?"

Nene's head shot up, having finally caught wind of the conversation. She was just about to explain that it wasn't like that when Shizuo spoke up.

"Yeah."

Huh… what? She turned and stared gapingly at Shizuo.

"What?" Shizuo asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Congratulations guys!" exclaimed Shishizaki, jumping from toe to toe. "So when did this happen?"

Nene hadn't moved a muscle, still reeling from what Shizuo had said and had yet to remember how to operate her voice box, eyes fixed on him in a permanent state of shock.

"Seriously, what date?"

Shizuo turned back to Shishizaki, scowling. "How many questions are you gonna ask?"

The older boy winced. Unbeknownst to Shizuo, there was a pool going on and if they had started going out after finals, Shishizaki would have won.

"Actually, I would also like to know when this happened." Suddenly Hajime's tall muscular form was shoulder to forehead with Kimi's slender, petite one, a rather grim challenging expression on her face. "Well Nene-chan."

Nene blinked, turning round to see Kimi for the first time. "Huh? Did you say something?"

"How come I wasn't told about this? What happened to full disclosure and all that _bullshit_?"

Still in a daze, Nene rubbed the back of her neck, trying hard to think back.

"Oi Nene!"

"Why don't we all just calm down?" Shishizaki suggested, touching Kimi's shoulder. She jerked it off.

"Hey Nene-chan, earth to Nene-chan."

Shizuo's face was beginning to spasm. Everyone was being too fucking loud.

"Shizuo… you realise that Shishizaki just asked if you were my boyfriend?" she enquired gently, trying to hold onto her heart. He had probably just misunderstood Shishizaki's question. That was it. There was no way Shizuo thought-

"Yeah."

"S-since when?"

"Since the zoo idiot."

Kimi and Shishizaki, who had by now caught up with the situation stared engrossedly at the pair of teenagers opposite them like they were spectating an impromptu street performance.

"Do you have any popcorn?"

"Shhhhhh."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Nene reiterated in a wispy voice while Shizuo stood up and walked over to the door.

"Where the hell are _you_ going?" demanded Kimi.

"For a smoke."

The door slammed shut and the sound seemed to break Nene out of her trance. She was just about to run after him when Kimi jumped in front of her, arms folded across her chest.

"Shoujo mangas got nothing on you Nene-chan," Shishizaki snickered.

Picking up the Tupperware box he had made her drop, Nene chucked it at Shishizaki's head. Of course he caught it. Fucking ninja reflexes.

"Be quiet," Kimi snapped at him and he promptly shut up. "But he's right. We've been telling you for weeks that he likes you. I mean how dense do you have to be-"

"Kimi I have to-"

"He slept over last night and you still didn't think-"

"Kimi-"

"Something was going on-"

"KIMI!" Nene snapped, slamming her fist down on the kitchen counter. Both Kimi and Shishizaki flinched, neither one knowing how to meet the suddenly smouldering black eyes.

Without another word, Nene stormed round her best friend and out the apartment.

Outside, Shizuo was stomping up and down the car park trying to get his anger out, grabbing at clumps of his hair and growling viciously. He had already gone through one cigarette and was starting on the second when Nene found him.

"Fuck sake," he was muttering to himself, his teeth clamping deeply into the cigarette until he could taste tobacco on his tongue. "Fucking Shinra… never listen to that idiot again. Never fucking…"

She approached him cautiously at first, trying to figure out what the best thing to say was so that he wouldn't fly into an uncontrollable rage. Then she realised that with Shizuo it was best to just speak.

"Shizuo."

Shizuo stopped and glared at her. "Eh?"

"Pleasetakecareofme," she blurted out, bowing low.

That's how he knew he liked her. His anger had dissipated in a crack and he was left with a stick of mostly ash hanging from his lip, arms limp at his sides, blinking at this girl who had come into his life and changed every expectation he had ever had about love.

As he pulled Nene up by the shoulders, her eyes unscrewed shut and she gazed up at his face with nervous anticipation. Then, as if some unseen force had taken over him, he leaned down, tilted his head to the side and-

"Excuse me… do you know where I can find Toyoshima Kimi?"

* * *

Back in the apartment, Kimi had propped herself against the wall to stop from trembling.

"W-well that was fucking rude," Kimi said, trying to keep her voice even. Except just then that side of Nene had come out, the one that terrified Kimi beyond reason.

Shishizaki let out a low whistle. "I'm just glad no one asked what I was doing here."

Letting out a shaky laugh, Kimi rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder.

"Hey, we were acting like assholes. She had every right to flip out," said Shishizaki, leaning on the wall beside her.

"It's just not like her," breathed Kimi. Except it was just like Nene. When Nene had hated her. God why did she feel his way, frail like a muslin sheet.

"Everyone has a breaking point."

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably them," she said, choking back all of her frailty and setting her face into impassivity as she swung the door open.

It cracked instantly.

"Taizo."

"Been a while, Kimi."

Kimi didn't know what else to do so she just stepped back into the apartment and let him in forgetting that Shishizaki was standing a few feet away and probably still smelt of her shampoo and sweat.

"Weren't you just leaving?" Kimi asked Shishizaki, while the two males appraised each other.

Shishizaki didn't need to be told twice. If there was one thing he was good at, it was reading the room, even if he sometimes used that to his advantage to torment people. Nodding once at the visitor, he bowed his head and slipped out of the apartment, leaving them alone.

"Who was that?" Taizo asked softly.

"He's one of Nene-chan's work colleagues," said Kimi, unable to bring herself to tell him the truth. Not that she had to lie. "He came to see her."

"Oh, 'kay," he said, smiling mildly. "You gonna give me a hug then or just stand there like a fish."

They hugged, but it was too tight and too long and she felt her breath hitch before she forcefully unwound herself.

"I've really missed you," he said, still holding her at arm's length.

Taizo had been a handsome man, more handsome than Kenta in Kimi's opinion, but the coma had done him no favours. Before he had had martial artist's physique, almost a hundred percent lean muscle coiled tight around his bones. Now he was all sharp edges and knobbly bones, his clothes hanging off him like he was a hat stand. Around his jaw, flecks of dead skin were peeling off in patches and seemed yellow and crusted in certain places, stark white in others. He used to have a naturally round chubby face with non-existent cheekbones, and now that's all Kimi could see. That and his sunken dark eyes watching her with nothing but devotion, devotion she knew she was unworthy of.

"I've missed you too," she said. And it was the truth, she had missed him, because she had once cared for him, but in the same way that you miss the way you used to feel when you played in the woods as a child and every nook and cranny was a place to embed your imagination.

They sat down for a while and talked like strangers, at least Kimi felt like they were strangers. Things had changed in the months that Taizo had been away. She had learned things about herself, horrible things, about the world, about her best friend. And at the same time she had become solid, if just a little. It was strange and paradoxical, but she felt like all the shit she had been wading in so far had made her cleaner. Maybe it was the perspective she'd gained. Like when you go to Africa and you see how much worse it is for other people and you realise how good you've got it. But it was more likely something else. She knew what really went bump in the middle of the night and it didn't drive her mad, or make her want to kill herself, which scared her the most. She could live with it. Now her nightly rebellions with Taizo seemed so far away. Just like those games she used to play in the woods.

"I don't think we should be together," she said, interrupting him as he was telling her about the big welcome back the gang were having for him and how he wanted her to be there, by his side.

Taizo just stared at her, the smile still on his face. "Look, it's been a while and I don't expect you to be like that with me straight away but-

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Ever. It won't ever be like it was. I'm different. I want different things now."

"Okay," he said calmly. "What things?"

"Other things Taizo, fuck sake," she snapped, more out of guilt than anger. "Things I just can't see coming from you."

He chuckled softly, scrubbing his hair with his nails and looking at her feet, reminiscent of those nervous little ticks he'd displayed when she'd first drunkenly sidled up to him, narrow hips swaying exaggeratedly and demanded he buy her a drink. Except this time a shower of dandruff fell onto his black jacket. She ached at seeing that. But she was Toyoshima Kimi and like hell was she stupid enough to confuse guilt with love.

"Tell me what they are hmm… you don't want me to do drugs, I won't do drugs, okay?" he said.

Kimi shook her head, getting more frustrated by the second. "It's not any of that shit. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel that way about you anymore. I'll always care about you but-"

"Just give it time-"

"Time won't change anything."

"You don't know that."

"Taizo there's someone else okay," she said sharply and a little louder than intended. "I've been fucking someone else."

There was a dull echo that rung in the hollow walls of their shitty apartment. Kimi pressed her fingers to her temples and avoided looking at him. She didn't want to see his face, not so long as he kept smiling that pitiful, puppy dog smile, that delusional smile that he thought would eventually win her over.

"You were happy with me," said Taizo, trying to make sense of things. "You were always saying how happy you were. That I was perfect."

"You were," she spoke evenly trying to give him the explanation he deserved. "But I thought I wanted someone who would worship the ground I walked on. Like I was a princess... My parents—they never treated me like a princess. They treated me like a dog that needed to be fed and groomed and taught not to shit on the carpet, but not a princess. I had _servants_ and _nannies_ and _tutors_, who did everything for me and I thought that was love. But they were just afraid that they wouldn't get their next paycheque or that the Little Miss would fire them. Fucked up right? I mistook fear for love."

When she looked up, he wasn't smiling, just looking at her.

"I worship the ground you walk on," muttered Taizo, "_because_ I love you."

"Yeah but that's not healthy Taizo," she said, a tired sigh in her voice. "And I know I'm not exactly a poster-child for health but I need to be with someone who makes me want to earn their love not fucking use them."

"So you're saying you were using me?" Taizo said, not judgementally.

"Yeah," she said frankly. "You made me feel like I was invincible and untouchable and I used you because I'm a bitch."

Taizo whistled low under his breath. "Most guys right now would agree," he said, smiling wryly to himself.

She shared the smile. "I wouldn't blame them."

"You know I'm not most guys."

"There are girls out there would be lucky to have you. But it's not me. I mean I always knew I was self-centred, but it took almost losing Nene-chan for me to realise what I was turning into. Fuck, I nearly lost my best friend. You know I can't function without her."

"Yeah," he said, "I know."

"So you understand?"

"No, but you can't force someone to love you right?" he said translucently.

"…No, you can't."

Taizo stood up and went over to the door. "Take care hmm."

The door barely made a sound when it closed... He was always so gentle in everything he did, she thought, slumping into the beaten couch. Sometimes she wished that she had taken the impulsive Kenta home that night rather than the soft-spoken Taizo. She had no idea how much better off she would have been if that had actually been the case.

* * *

It would have been too much to expect Heiwajima Shizuo to remember the face of the man he had almost killed. So when Taizo approached the couple in the parking lot outside of Kimi's apartment, Shizuo did not recognise him, which meant that Akiyama Nene did not know who he was. This made inviting her into the diner much easier.

One of his men had been put on her, while Taizo had his revealing talk with Kimi, following her as she went to a bakery with Heiwajima Shizuo and ate a particularly unhealthy lunch. Afterwards, they did grocery shopping and then took the bags back to what was presumably Shizuo's place of residence.

Nene remained there until about seven o'clock in the evening and then exited the house. For a worrying few seconds, it looked as if Shizuo was going to walk her home, but after a few minutes of her shoving him back into his house, she started making her way back alone. By now it had started to rain.

It was when she was passing by a small American style diner at the edge of the Red Light district that Uchida Taizo intentionally bumped into her, knocking her onto her ass and getting all of her clothes. Extremely apologetic, he helped her to her feet and under the pretext of a fake name and using their mutual friendship with Kimi, he managed to convince her to let him treat her to food at the diner.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

... Yep :D


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Thanks to all you readers for your support :D Author's note below for information about the next few chapters. Enjoy!_

**Break You**

**Chapter 14**

"So… what's your answer?"

Nene gawked at the man sat across from her.

"Heh, you're making me nervous."

The two shadows looming outside of the entrance to the diner made that extremely hard to believe.

She had wondered at the beginning if she could make a run for it. But the diner was surrounded. If Taizo hadn't stolen her phone earlier when he knocked her down she might have been able to buy herself some time for someone to come and rescue her. But it looked like her life had stopped being a Shoujo manga fast.

To his credit, Taizo wasn't rushing her, but then he seemed like the subtler kind of psycho, the one who truly believed that everything he did was for love. So he was patient and understanding with all he undertook, even as he tried to convince Nene to come along quietly. In a way, he wanted her to like him. She was the best friend of the woman he loved so it was important for him to make a good impression. Nene was both horrified and fascinated by the web of delusion he had spun himself.

"What are you going to do to me?" Nene asked.

Taizo shook his head, appearing almost saddened. "Nothing, I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm not a bad guy, Nene-chan."

Again, she found that extremely hard to believe.

He had just told her that he was the one who had hired the men to attack Kimi and currently, he was in the process of abducting Nene so that he could hold her hostage.

No he was not a bad guy. Just insane.

"If you're going to kidnap me," Nene said, weighing her words carefully, "people are going to get suspicious."

Taizo rubbed the top of his head thoughtfully. "You mean like Heiwajima? Don't worry about him."

Her head snapped up. "Why not?"

"You know Kenta… he has this plan. I told him that there was no point, but between you and me, sometimes the guy just doesn't know when to let go," said Taizo, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I know you're close."

Nene dug her nails into her thighs beneath the table.

"It's a suicide mission. Shizuo will kill all of your people."

"Nah, I don't know if Kimi told you, but Kenta's a bit of a mad genius. He's got everything covered."

"_What_ covered?"

"Beats me."

"Okay fine, what about the others?" Nene insisted, incredulity in her voice. "What happens when other people start to notice I'm gone?"

"Kimi'll just tell them that you've gone to stay with your mother overseas."

Really how much did Kimi talk about her to other people? He had an answer for everything. Still, it was a shaky foundation he was laying his plan on.

"Right before the end of the school year? Why not wait until it's over?"

"I dunno… Kimi will think of something to tell them. Heart-warming reconciliation with your mother. Dead relative. That kinda thing."

"People will still get suspicious. Kimi isn't exactly a great actress. Simon and Dennis will know something's up. And Shishizaki Hajime, he'll wonder why she suddenly dumped him at the same time I disappeared. He's seen your face too, the other day. What happens when he starts asking questions?"

"C'mon, Nene-chan-"

"_Stop_ calling me that," Nene breathed hotly.

"I know this is a shitty situation and my compliments to you, you're handling it real well," said Taizo. "Just hold on that little bit longer, okay kid?"

How could she let this man anywhere near Kimi or Shizuo?

"What about my father?"

Taizo's eyes widened a little. Finally something Kimi had not divulged about her.

"You didn't think about that did you?" Nene said with a ghost of a smile.

"It's funny," Taizo remarked, unfazed. "Out of everyone, you mentioned your dad last."

Nene's smile fell, her heartbeat rising. "So?"

"I bet you and your dad don't talk much," Taizo said, shrugging his shoulders. "I bet it'll be a while before he notices something's up. And by then… hopefully… Kimi will understand."

"And if she doesn't?"

There was an uneasy pause as they stared at each other.

"I try to keep on the positive side of things. You should too," Taizo said, standing up and zipping up his coat. "The rain's stopped."

* * *

Izaya had been lounging about on a rooftop watching a yakuza-run restaurant through his binoculars when Kimi rang. It had been a bizarre conversation. Something had happened, something especially mouth-watering if her first port of call was him. Maybe Yagiri Pharmaceuticals had finally caught up with her. If she was predictable she would try to blackmail him, but that didn't worry him. There was no way he could be tied directly to her and even if they ignored that and tried to gun for him anyway, he had a labyrinth of information to conceal himself within.

No, hopefully whatever it was it was a more interesting than that. There was the possibility it had something to do with Uchida Taizo trying to win her back and Izaya had to admit he was particularly intrigued by that scenario. Especially since Kimi was seeing Shishizaki. It would be _so_ decadent if she asked him to _take care_ of Taizo for her. One of Izaya's new pastimes was watching Kimi try to crawl out of the river of shit she had made for herself only to be clawed back in. It was comfortable, her reliability to meet his expectations. Gave him a warm fuzzy feeling.

He arranged for her to come up to the roof while he played eye-spy-with-my-little-eye-something-beginning-with-racketeering and not ten minutes had passed when she exploded through the roof door. Even though it was the middle of winter she was dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts which clung to her body with sweat.

Resting his binoculars leisurely on the roof's ledge, Izaya walked over to her as she bent over and tried to catch her breath.

"Ahh, Kimi-chan, you're looking-"

"Taizo took Nene."

* * *

Situated at the back of a club called _The Gold Room_, there was a room covered in tacky orange velvet. Individual to that room was the perpetual stench of urine and alcohol. Music with a hard bass thumped as bar staff zipped in and out of the room topping up the drinks of the already passed out. Off their heads on E couples dry humped in dank corners, while girls danced on laps or licked up tequila in belly button shots and the guys stood around tables cutting coke with speed. But it was in the centre, in the massive conversation pit where all the action was happening.

Three couches lined its shabby interior around a small table that looked ready to lose its last sturdy leg. One man, who could have been mistaken for a university freshman due to his impish features, knocked back a shot before exhaling dramatically, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Good to have you back, Tai," he yelled warmly, pouring himself another.

Taizo lifted up his own drink. "Yeah," he rasped.

Kenta was beside himself with joy. His best friend was back, business was better than ever and the problem he had been driving himself crazy over was about to be smushed out of existence. Izaya had finally given him a date.

"Did you manage to sort things out with Kimi?" Saburo asked. Saburo had known both Taizo and Kenta since high school and was seen as the third-in-command by all of their subordinates.

Kenta's head snapped round. "Sort what out with Kimi?"

Realising that he had said something that he shouldn't have, Saburo stood up and walked to the other side of the pit where a couple of girls were making out and sunk down casually between them.

"I went over there today to see if she would take me back," Taizo muttered. Kenta strained to hear him over the music.

"I thought we agreed that you would stay the fuck away from her cos she's bad news."

"No, no, _you told me_ to stay the fuck away from Kimi cos she's bad news," Taizo said, shaking his head slowly. "And I didn't listen man."

"What happened?"

"She flat-out rejected me," Taizo said, still smiling in spite of it.

Maybe it was the alcohol or the spliff he had smoked earlier, but he seemed completely at ease, like the woman he loved enough to kill for had not just ripped his heart to pieces. It made Kenta uneasy.

"See, that's why I told you not to go," said Kenta, pouring his friend another drink. "Chick is bad news."

"You said already. But I have this plan to get her back," said Taizo, sighing jadedly to himself as he took the drink and downed it.

"I don't wanna hear it, Taizo, stay the fuck away from her I mean it," said Ryo.

"I can't do that man, I already set everything- everything up," Taizo said, tugging an envelope out from his pocket. "Here look at this."

Taizo handed Kenta the Polaroid that was inside. Kenta felt an icy sweat pool around the seat of his groin as he looked at what was on it.

It had been a while since, but Kenta recognised her.

"The fuck is this?"

"That's Akiyama Nene. You remember… Kimi's best friend," said Taizo, closing the phone and pocketing it. "There's no one more important in the world to Kimi than this girl, so I figured-"

But whatever Taizo had figured was put on hold for the second, because Kenta had slammed him up against the wall, eyes narrowed.

"Where is she?"

Saburo and the others had gotten to their feet but no one dared intervene.

"In the basement," Taizo said calmly, prying Kenta's fingers off one by one.

"You… you just had to go and fuck it this time didn't you," Kenta breathed, slamming him once for good measure.

* * *

_Russia Sushi. Tomorrow. 5PM._

_Taizo_

For the fourth time Izaya re-read the words scribbled on the back of the Polaroid.

"This isn't like Taizo," Kimi said, arms folded over her chest as she paced back and forth in front of him. "His head must be screwed up after the coma or something."

"Hmmm… actually he's insane," Izaya said as he continued to observe the picture. They hadn't harmed her from what he could see. Yet.

"What are you talking about?" Kimi muttered, barely hearing him.

"Ahhhh, I really didn't want to have to tell Kimi-san this, but those men who attacked you, who exactly do you think sent them?"

Kimi's brow furrowed and she looked at Izaya like he had gone mad. "Kenta. You said it yourself."

"That was a lie," said Izaya. "Kenta hates you about as much as he hates me. He was over the moon when he found out you were planning to abandon Taizo and their gang."

"So who the hell sent them-" Her eyes widened as she figured out what Izaya was trying to get at. "You're saying it was Taizo that hired them. Are you fucking crazy?"

"If we're being specific I hired the men on Taizo's orders. It was his brilliant idea."

Kimi was seething at this point; blotches of red rippled under her skin. "I'm going to ignore for the moment that you're a lying scumbag. Why the hell would Taizo do that?"

"He was afraid of losing you, so he thought that if he scared you into thinking that it was dangerous to try to skip out on Kenta and the only one who could protect you was him, you would feel indebted to him."

"Bullshit."

"Ask yourself… why were you there that day?"

Taizo had asked her to meet him so that they could figure out how to appease Kenta. She bent over and clutched her knees. "Are you fucking kidding?"

"It might not be the best time to mention this, but he was also the one who got the cocaine stolen from you in the first place-"

"Shut the fuck up already."

"Kimi-san really knows how to pick 'em," said Izaya, sighing melodramatically.

"Fuck you," she growled.

"If he was willing to do all that to the woman he loves," Izaya said, letting out a sharp whistle, "there's no telling what he might do to Nene-chan."

"I get it!" she snapped. "What do we do?"

"_We_?" Izaya repeated dryly, raising an eyebrow.

Kimi swung round, her face contorted into a vicious snarl. "We!" she snapped back. "Nene is your friend too-"

"Ah-ah-ah," Izaya cut her off, wagging his finger. "Nene-chan… how did you put it? Oh yeah, she dumped me, _remember_?"

"Don't give me that crap. You said it yourself. They're dangerous. Are you telling me you're not even a little worried for her right now?"

Izaya shrugged, face clean of emotion.

"This is such bullshit," she roared, squeezing her fists tightly at her sides. "What the hell am I supposed to do exactly?"

"Really you only have one option," said Izaya, tilting his head up and staring directly into the sun. He remembered suddenly like a case of heartburn flaring in his chest that Nene often enjoyed staring at the sun. It reminded her of Shizu-chan. "If Shizu-chan gets involved Taizo will hurt Nene. That is if Shizu-chan doesn't collapse the building on top of them first. And the same will happen if you get the police involved. Essentially, you are helpless."

"_And the one option is?_"

The answer was so simple and nauseating that a part of her had known it already.

"Give in to his demands. Every. Last. One."

* * *

The air smelt damp and stale like recycled oxygen. Nene had dozed off for a bit but rope pressing into your skin had a way of making you uncomfortable and she had woken up after a few minutes. Screaming was out of the question with the bandana around her mouth, plus she doubted anyone would be able to hear her.

She had known it was pointless to put up a fight so she'd co-operated all the way here, and yet she had still managed to end up bound and gagged. A part of it, she knew, was for the sake of the pictures they'd taken, another, she could only speculate, was so that she couldn't hurt herself. They had to make nice with her to a certain extent if Taizo wanted to keep Kimi in line.

She sniffed, her eyes straining against the harsh yellow light overhead. They had put a man outside to guard her and she could see the shiny bald dome of his head through the frosted glass of the door. Soon they would have to let her out to go to the toilet. Somehow an opportunity would definitely present itself. It would. It had to.

Suddenly the door slammed open, bouncing off the wall.

Her eyes widened in recognition.

_Ryo._

A jarring mixture of relief and panic exploded in her at once as the young man stared at her.

"So you've seen her," came Taizo's soft voice beside him. "Wanna tell me why you're all fired up, Kenta?"

Nene's eyes flicked to Taizo, staring at him incredulously, then back to Ryo.

"Kenta-"

"What is this?" Ryo suddenly shouted. "What are you doing, Taizo? Have you gone fucking insane? Did Heiwajima give you brain damage? This is fucking kidnapping asshole."

Several other gang members had filed into the room and now stood in a semi-circle behind them, watching the scene in silence.

"I don't think people like us can try to take the moral high ground in a situation like this, Kenta," Taizo said.

There it was again. Kenta. Nene carefully watched Ryo's face to see his reaction, but he didn't seem surprised. Her throat felt tight.

"Something you're not telling us?" said one of the men at the back, leaning against the door. He was tall, with cropped blonde hair and thin spectacles and he looked the most relaxed out of everyone in the room. It irked her that he could keep his cool in such an electrified atmosphere, almost like he was used to being knee deep in shit. Something told her to study his face and commit it to memory.

"Saburo, if there's something I'm not telling you that means it's none of your business," Ryo snapped, his face turning a molten red.

He had pulled out a knife from his pocket and was moving towards Nene. No one reacted. No it wasn't that. No one dared to react. Bending down in front of her, he slipped the knife under her gag and cut it away. It was pointless to speak, so she just exercised her jaw a little. Unable to take her eyes from Ryo's twitching face, she felt her mouth fill with sour saliva.

"The rest of you out," Ryo roared over his shoulder. One by one they disappeared, until Saburo was the only one left. For some reason Nene would have preferred Taizo. "You too asshole."

"You know you can't let her go," Saburo said evenly, opening the door. "Taizo's one of us and this is just another girl."

"You try telling that to him. He's the one that's messing everything up because of _another girl_, not me," Ryo said, maintaining a shaky control over his temper.

"It isn't the first time one of us has done something stupid."

Ryo kept his eyes on the ground.

"But we always stood by each other," Saburo continued. "I'm just saying, remember your priorities-"

"I get it!" Ryo bellowed viciously. "Now leave before I prioritise putting _you_ in the hospital!"

When he'd left, Ryo started cutting away a few more of her restraints until only her arms and legs were bound. Inhaling deeply, she enjoyed the simple luxury of being able to breathe without her ribs cracking. Unfortunately now that she was alone with Ryo, breathing was the least of her worries.

"Why do they keep calling you Kenta?" was the first thing she asked him.

"Because that's my name," Ryo said wryly, slumping on the floor beside her chair. "Kagone Kenta, badass motherfucker, kidnapping little high school girls."

"You said-"

"I _lied_."

She flinched. He had laid his hand over his propped up knee and she could see how tightly he was gripping it.

"Why?"

"Oh I dunno, _Lisa_, why did I lie?" he said, turning the alias she had used when they had first met on her.

Ryo took out what looked to be a walkie-talkie from the inside of his jacket.

"Yo, Chiyo, come down to the basement and bring a futon and some bed sheets with you…"

And indistinct whirr came from the other end. _"For the girl?"_

"Yeah for the girl!" he glanced at Nene's horrified face and then looked away. "And some clothes maybe…"

"_Sure thing sweetie, know what size she is?"_

"No I don't know what fucking size she is. Just hurry up."

Nene shut her eyes tightly.

"Chiyo will take you to the washroom and clean you up, you can go to the bathroom then too," he told her. "Don't bother trying to escape. This place is-"

"How long are you planning on keeping me here?" she exclaimed, real panic in her voice then. A futon… bed sheets? Were they ever going to let her go? She had heard of things like this before. She had seen their faces, all of their faces. Her eyes started to sting as reality flared its incandescent light.

"Fuck knows," Ryo muttered, rubbing his face uneasily as he got to his feet. "I'll go get you some food. You like cake right? I'll get you cake."

"Wait!" she shouted as he opened the door. "You're the boss right. They have to listen to you. You don't have to do this. You could let me go. _Just let me go, Ryo_."

He paused, his tall back stiffening.

"Look you heard the man. I have priorities. Can't let you fuck with my head."

"I'm not fucking with your head, Ryo," she shouted, or rather she felt like she was dry heaving. If she could she would reach into her throat and present her heart to him so that he would know she wasn't lying. She would. She would. She needed him to believe her. Or at least look at her. "Please believe me, Ryo. I'm scared-"

"Kenta. If you call me Kenta it'll make it easier," he said, and then he walked through the door.

"HEY!" she shouted, lurching forwards, tears flying off her face as she tried to shake herself out of her restraints. "RYO! RYO! RYO!"

There was a bang on the frosted glass and a deep voice told her to 'be quiet'. She fell back into the wooden chair and threw her head back, her mouth stretched open in a silent scream.

* * *

His audacity was impressive, Kimi thought as she entered the Russia Sushi establishment, trying her hardest to keep her composure. Picking a place that would be full of both Kimi and Nene's friends was one hell of a brazen move. But, just like Izaya had said, that was just Taizo's way of showing her how utterly powerless she was. He could harass her in a room full of the strongest men in Ikebukuro and she couldn't lift a finger.

"Hey, Kimi! Do you know where Nene is? She didn't show up for her shift today?" Shishizaki called from the other side of the restaurant.

"How the hell should I know?" snapped Kimi. "This morning she ran out of the house saying she had something important to do. In fact, if you see her, tell her I want my blouse back."

Shishizaki shrugged his shoulders and went back to serving customers. The clock on the wall told her she was five minutes early. Kimi found a booth at the back, well out of earshot and ordered a glass of juice and some sashimi, for appearance's sake. She didn't feel like her stomach could take any food.

Just when she was about ready to pick up her phone and call the cocksucker, Taizo appeared in front of her.

_Give in to his demands_

A nod of regard was all she could manage without reaching across the table and strangling him.

"I know you probably wish all kinds of bodily harm on me, Kimi, but I need you not to flip out on me, okay?" he asked gently. It was like he was trying to placate an angry girlfriend after he had forgotten their anniversary.

"I'm not going to flip out," Kimi said evenly, then dropped her voice. "But first, I need to know Nene-chan is okay."

"After we've finished talking we can go outside and I'll put her on the phone for you. I swear," he said, folding his hands on the table and leaning in.

"Okay," she said, clenching her fists under the table. "So what do you want me to do? And skip the pleasantries. I'm not in the mood."

"Well, first, you need to tell Shishizaki-san that it's over."

Kimi's eyes narrowed sharply, but she bit her lip. "Then what?"

"I'm going to send some guys round to your place tomorrow. They'll pack up your stuff and move you into the new apartment I bought for us. You'll come straight home from school. You won't need your job anymore, so you give notice as soon as possible."

"Anything else."

"You don't know how happy I am that you're co-operating so well, Kimi."

Kimi leaned forward, her voice dropping to an ominously cold whisper. "You're holding my best friend hostage. So you say jump, I say how fucking high."

Then she leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. There were remnants of haughtiness flickering in her eyes, but they were no threat to Taizo, muted by the worry for her friend and maybe a little by the grief at everything she was about to lose to save her.

He smiled ruefully to himself.

"It won't always to be like this," he said. She didn't know who he was trying to convince. "I know I still mean something to you. Love doesn't… you don't just forget how you feel about someone. Even if you hate me, a part of you will always care about me."

"Fine. You're right. I will always care about you. I'll give you that one," she said. After all, 'giving in' was the name of the game. "But let's be honest here; right now the sight of you makes me sick."

He took her hands in his, stroking them gently and somehow she succeeded in overriding the shudder that threatened to convulse through her. "I know. But you'll get it, Kimi… eventually, how it all adds up."

"…If I do all these things, you'll let Nene-chan go?"

"Yeah 'course, soon as everything's back to normal, Nene's free to go."

But nothing would go back to normal, thought Kimi.

Taizo waited in the car as she broke Shishizaki's heart. When she got in her face was perfectly impassive and he marvelled at her nobility.

It held until she was back in her shitty apartment packing up her life and discovered a mangled lamp wrapped in bubble wrap at the back of Nene's cupboard, its orange shards neatly piled into a Tupperware box to be pieced back together later.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This chapter was originally longer, but I've broken it up. I'll probably be updating with the second half within a few weeks at least after I've re-written it. On that note, the next few chapters are written up, but I'm reworking them a lot to make sure they make sense and follow into each other without any plot holes/discrepancies. The scenes just keep getting bigger and more complicated as I go along D=

Let me know what you think. Not confident that I've portrayed Taizo well enough without making him seem like an extra-thumb sort of character. I've written his and Ryo's basic backstory now, still debating whether or not to include it or just hint to it. What do you guys think?

As always, if you want to give an opinion or badger me into updating, my PM box is always open :D

Thanks for reading.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Thank you for reading, reviewing, alerting, messaging guys. Long __**Author's Note**__ that is me rambling for a couple of paragraphs about nothing in particular. Updates will slow down now on account of 'Finals' and Dissertation project._

**Break You**

**Chapter 15**

"_You really don't know how to take no for an answer."_

"_Nene-chan is always calling me ominous so I was just trying to meet her expectations."_

"_By lurking in dark alleyways?"_

"_Would you rather I hid in the girls' changing rooms to catch a glimpse of your Hello Kitty panties?"_

"_One of your followers gave you that information."_

"_How do you know I didn't get the information first-hand?"_

"_You're not the kind of person to get your hands dirty."_

"_That's a pretty sweeping assumption to make of someone you've only known for a few weeks."_

"_For you to get your hands dirty, the risk-reward ratio would have to be substantial."_

"_Is that your father's background in finance rubbing off on you?"_

"_I was the treasurer for the bird-watching society in first year. Anyway, let's talk about you some more. I can't imagine that there's anything in this world that's worth more than your own security."_

"_Oh really."_

"_The only times I ever seen you come close to getting your hands dirty is when Heiwajima-san and you fight, and you don't have a choice in that matter."_

"…"

"_So the only reason you'd ever get your hands dirty would be to protect yourself, right? In fact, I'm willing to wager that you'd throw your own mother in front of a bus if it meant saving yourself."_

"_You make me sound so heartless."_

"_I'm just being honest."_

* * *

Nene winced as the flash went off.

"That's great, Nene-san."

"I hope your children have web feet."

As far as hostage situations went, she had very little to complain about. She had graduated from being bound to a chair to having her foot shackled to a length of chain connected to a metal pipe. The chain only gave her a few meters though, so there was no lurking behind the door to spring up and beat the guard into submission.

Chiyo had left her a Gameboy and some magazines to read. Unfortunately, Chiyo, despite her looks, was a geek, so all of the magazines she gave Nene were about evolutionary sciences. No celebrity gossip to titillate Nene's aching mind, no ten easy tips on how to starve yourself into a relationship with a megalomaniac with perfectly coiffed hair.

She was eating better now than she had in months. Just a few hours ago she had been treated to a feast of steak, veg, chips, and takoyaki. And there was always dessert, usually cake. It was Kenta's guilt manifested in edible form. Nene knew because it came from the café they had visited together back when he was just Ryo. He still hadn't returned to see her. In a way Nene was glad. She wanted to minimise the possibility of Stockholm syndrome.

The door opened and Chiyo walked in, an uneven jaunt in her step. Tonight her bathroom attendant was dressed to the nines in neon green hot pants and a shimmering orange sequin boob tube that barely hung on. There was a bulge in right pocket that Nene knew to be her clunky Nokia mobile phone, the phone Kimi called on.

"How you doin', honey?" Chiyo slurred as the guard placed Nene's hands behind her back to cuff her.

"Shit. You?" Nene said, not bothering to feign a smile. They might have felt sorry for her but she knew it was the same kind of sympathy you felt for a slug you had squished by accident.

"I'm doin' okay, honey," said Chiyo.

Once the guard had unlocked the fetter around Nene's ankle Chiyo turned and led them out of the dingy little basement office.

In the basement there was no reception so she had been taken up to the ground floor when Kimi needed to speak to her. The excursions had allowed Nene to plot out a basic map of the immediate basement area in her head. The office was connected to a hallway with an array of doors leading into rooms, where she suspected they made and stored the drugs in. As they passed through Nene saw the door that would take her up.

When they reached the bathroom, the guard stationed himself outside. It was pretty spacious, which made what Nene had to do all the easier. She went through all of the humiliating motions of having someone pull down her pants and wipe her ass for her with sporting restraint.

"Can… can you use water?" Nene muttered, blushing for added emphasis. "Please."

Chiyo, who was arguably more than a little tipsy, shot Nene a sugary smile. "'Course, sweetie."

This was it. As Chiyo turned around to fill the water jug, Nene quietly got to her feet, jumped and swung the cuffs up underneath her legs bringing them to her front. Pulling up her trousers, she shot forwards and hooked the chain around Chiyo's neck, who being a good few inches taller than Nene probably would have gotten the upper hand if not for the fact that she was quite drunk. The woman's breathless squeaks were drowned out by the sound of running water before finally, she fell limp. Thank God for alcohol, thought Nene as she dragged the sleeping body to the wall furthest from the door. Searching Chiyo, Nene found the phone and a few yen bills, which she pocketed.

Then, going over to the toilet, Nene lifted off the tank's heavy ceramic lid and crouched down beside the door. This was it. Take a deep breath and…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The door almost came off the hinges as the guard barged in, his hand moving to the knife in his belt. But then his eyes landed on Chiyo's unconscious figure in the corner and he hesitated.

Here was something that had worked in Nene's favour. The guard was in love with Chiyo. Nene had seen it in the millisecond extra-long glances he would shoot her every time she walked into the dingy office. His pupils would dilate and a goofy unperverted smile would drift onto his face as he imagined them in front of a bungalow with a white picket fence and Chiyo's belly swollen with his web-footed child.

That moment's hesitation was all she needed.

Rising up, she swung the ceramic lid round and whacked him across the head. He toppled backwards like and dropped to like a felled tree. Nene grabbed his ankles and dragged him into the bathroom. Divesting him of the keys she unlocked her handcuffs and then handcuffed his wrist to Chiyo's ankle. It was a little sadistic she had to admit, but gratifying at the same time. She resisted the urge to kick them.

Once she'd found his phone, Nene locked the bathroom door behind her and made her way down the corridor. There were no reception bars on until she reached the top of the stairs leading to the ground floor. Scrolling through the list of previously dialled numbers on Chiyo's phone, she searched for the timestamp for the last time she'd spoken to Kimi. It was a landline, which meant there was a fifty percent chance that Taizo or Kimi could pick up.

_Let it be Kimi._

"…Hello?"

"Kimi-chan, it's me."

"I didn't think he was gonna let me speak to you today."

"He didn't," Nene said as she gently pushed the door to the ground floor open and checked the surroundings. "Listen, you need to get out of there as soon as possible."

"What's going on? Did you get out?"

It didn't appear as if anyone was around. Nene shot out into the deserted hallway and began searching for an exit. She tried the side door but it was locked.

"I'm trying to get out right now, but you need to go. Now."

"I can't. Taizo's got people watching this place all the time. I so much as go out to the convenience store and there's a slimy little bastard trying to carry my bags for me."

"Make up some sort of excuse," Nene said as she slunk around trying doors. "I can't leave if they've still got you. Call Shishizaki-nii to come pick you up if you have to. We have a short window right now."

"Okay, okay, I'll… I'll call an ambulance," Kimi said. "Pretend I'm having chest pains or something."

"Tell Shishizaki-nii to meet you at the hospital. I'll see you at Russia Sushi as soon as possible."

"Get out of there, Nene-chan, okay? But if- if you can't-"

"I'll get out of here, don't worry. Do you have a phone?" Nene asked. "Call me on this number okay the second you're at the hospital and stay with me till you're with Shishizaki."

"Okay."

Nene ended the call and returned to exploring the first floor. After a good while of wandering around aimlessly, she found an unlocked door in a small alcove at the end of the corridor. It was a neglected music room, large white sheets covering an assortment of instruments including a piano. But what really made her heart soar was the window. The view outside was of the main road. When she tried it, it didn't budge. Painted shut, she thought to herself, scanning her room to see if she could see anything she could use to pry it open.

That's when her phone rang.

"Shishizaki wasn't picking up."

Nene could hear the busy sounds of the hospital in the background and felt the kinks loosen in her body.

"Give me a second."

Picking up the piano stool, Nene propelled it through the window. Taking a running start, she leapt through the hole, tumbling into the street in an awkward roll that almost broke her ankle.

"What the hell was that?" Kimi exclaimed.

"I just threw a piano stool through a window," muttered Nene, hobbling to her feet. A jagged edge of the glass had made a deep cut across her side and she bit her teeth against the pain. "I'm out. I think I know where I am. I've been here before."

"The Gold Room," said Kimi.

"Yeah, I know where to go from here. But Kimi, this is really important. I need you to warn Shizuo-"

All of a sudden the wind was knocked clean out of her. She felt the phone slip from her fingers and clatter to the concrete as she limped painfully to the side, trying to open up the distance between her and her attacker.

"Here I was out for a smoke and look what I found. If that isn't lucky, I don't know what is."

* * *

As Izaya skipped through the oncology ward, he found himself mildly impressed that she wasn't a complete idiot. Simply sitting around in A&E would have had her found out by Taizo in no time.

Kimi was in the waiting room behind the vending machine talking quietly on the phone. He would have observed her for a few moments longer had she not suddenly straightened up.

"Nene!" she yelled down the phone. "Nene, are you there?!"

His gleeful smile froze. He stood there but he did not feel anything. He was not a knight-errant and Nene was no damsel in distress.

But the chain around the treasure chest felt flimsier now, so the lid could snap open and shut a little, like the mouth of a piranha bound by a string, waiting for just that little bit of leeway to gobble up the head that dared peek inside.

"Hello?" Kimi said again.

"It looks like that window of opportunity Nene-chan made, ran out," Izaya observed, voice deceptively airy.

Kimi glanced at him, but continued breathing down the phone.

Nene did not need his help. Nene was better than that. Always frustrating his expectations. Never fitting into his puzzle. Even now after all the calculations he had made, the plans and contingency plans, why couldn't he ever plan for her?

"They caught her," she said, after she'd turned off the phone. "If I don't go back they're going to hurt her aren't they? What are we supposed to do?"

Izaya's response was automatic. "_We_?"

"If I don't kill you before this is over, it'll be a miracle," Kimi said.

"Will that be before or after they kill Nene-chan?"

Picking up her handbag, she yanked out a collection of Polaroids and thrust them into his hands. "They send me one of these every day."

Humouring her, Izaya flicked through them one by one. They all showed Nene with a grim expression holding up a newspaper.

"Someone should tell Nene-chan that the face she's making is going to chase off all of her suitors… ahaha, who am I kidding."

He could imagine Nene snorting at his comment then reminding him that she would always have him to chase after her.

"Is that all you have to say?"

Izaya's lips quirked as he came across a picture of Nene making a horrible face at the camera man.

"It looks like she's gained a bit of weight too. Maybe we should take this as a blessing in disguise."

"This isn't a fucking joke!" she exploded. The patients in the waiting room looked around nervously, but thankfully the couple were shielded by the broad side of the vending machine. "I think it's time to get the police involved, or at least tell Shizuo. He has a right to know considering-"

"Tell me, has Taizo started demanding your body yet? Because I expect that'll start soon if it hasn't already. But I'm sure that thought's already crossed your mind."

Izaya caught her fist. His gaze was hard and uncompromising as he held on tightly.

"I don't understand what it is you want from me Kimi-san. Do you want me to tell you that we'll find another way? _Don't worry leave it up to me_," Izaya said mirthlessly. "Or is it just that you want me to tell you that you don't have to go back to Taizo? Even if it means Nene-chan might get hurt. Fine."

Kimi could feel the cool ebb of her sanity draining.

"Don't go back, Kimi," he said in a soft consoling voice. "Nene's attempt shouldn't go in vain. Go to Shizu-chan or Shishizaki or Simon and get them involved. Make the situation ten times worse instead of sucking it up and going back to Taizo. Hide behind the backs of your protectors like the coward you really are while your friend's face is mutilated because you are more concerned about yourself."

Izaya extended his arm and held the pictures out for her to take.

"It was truly a magnificent feat, Kimi-san, tricking people into believing you were the stronger one. How long have you been riding on Nene's back exactly?" he asked coldly.

She didn't move and Izaya let the pictures fall to the ground.

"Since you'll be quitting Yagiri Pharmaceuticals soon, I no longer have any use for you. Please don't contact me again."

He was about to leave, overcome with the ennui of having been so greatly disappointed by one of his beloved humans, when something caught his eye.

Bending over, he picked up one of the pictures and smiled dryly to himself. Nene was sticking her middle finger up over the newspaper. It would be a nice thing to show Shizu-chan on graduation, right before Kenta had his way with him.

Then Izaya noticed something else.

The long sleeve of Nene's oversized white shirt had slipped down to reveal her wrist.

Clasped around it was a bronze bracelet.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Short chapter this time round: Extra-long author's note. It just felt like a natural stopping point. I'm kinda sick right now so not sure if it's entirely proof read. I've been reading more of the Light Novels and felt an urge to update. The action scene still seems a little clunky to me. Will probably come back later and fix it. Lemme know if anyone's got tips. Been practising action in original works and still doesn't feel quite natural, pace/suspense-wise.

To an **anon **reviewer, I just wanted to clear up the thing about Shizuo having a thing for older women. When I read Wiki my brain had a 'WHAT THE FUDGE NOOOO WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE' moment, however, having recently read the eighth Light Novel, I discovered that HEINOUSLY misinformed inferences have been made. Basically, in the story when Anri's boobs are being unsexually molested by a kitty, the narrator tells us how no one really notices because the people in the room are not interested in Anri romantically. Shizuo's reason for not being interested in Anri is (paraphrased): 'Shizuo was only interested in older women', which is more than likely women older than Anri, who is about seventeen at the time. I love how I've written an entire paragraph to defend Shizuo's attraction for Nene. I blame the cold. In any case, it wouldn't matter if Shizuo had a thing for gigantic women who dress as clowns, I shall PERSIST with this story.

I love that readers are starting to make their allegiances pairing-wise. Nene/Shizuo. Nene/Izaya. Who will it be?! I was thinking about putting a poll on my page so people could vote for which their favourite was. By no means will it affect the outcome of the story, I'm just really curious. So if you're interested in something like that lemme know.

Thanks for reading!

P.S I may have gone onto the Durarara Wiki and deleted that older women thingy... :D


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Thank you for your continued support. Another long **Author's**** Note**_ _at the bottom. I've posed a few questions to you readers about this chapter (as I am not 100% happy with it) and my writing style which if you feel like answering/discussing with me, can always drop me some PMs. And check out the poll on my profile!_

**Break You**

**Chapter 16**

A blurry figure hovered by her side. Nene's first thought was that she was in the hospital. That the blurred figure by her bed was her mother. She had flown in from Paraguay on the first flight in, hair in a messy fly-away bun. Mum had brought mochi, the kind she used to make whenever Nene was feeling low. It tasted like happy memories and warm hugs, the kind mummy would give her at night when daddy didn't come home. Except this time there was no patch on Nene-chan's pillow where mummy had been crying all night. Mummy would smile and say sorry for leaving. And daddy would stay. And Kimi would stay. And Shizuo would stay. And Izaya would… lurk. And no one would leave again. And she would never feel afraid of the world splitting in half and bearing its grinning teeth at her.

She wanted to die in warm cuddles and pink mochi. But most of all she wanted mummy to make the burning stop.

There was, in fact, a wet patch on Nene's pillow and it wasn't just limited to her pillow but spread across the entire mattress. Nene had a fever. The cut she had received from the broken glass was infected. Delirium had taken over quickly after Saburo had knocked her unconscious. Chiyo, who wasn't one for holding grudges against squished slugs had moved Nene into one of the upstairs bedrooms and remained by the girl's bed side carrying out the duties of her phantom mother until Kenta arrived.

"How is she?" he demanded, barging into the room.

"Shh... she's okay," Chiyo whispered, dipping a cloth in a bucket full of water and wringing it out. "There's a cut on her hip that doesn't look too pretty. Antibiotics?"

Kenta sat down and handed her a bag. All of his movements were fettered by his unease, like a glitch in a video game.

"Thought you had to meet with a big-wig in Shinjuku?" Chiyo asked.

"Cancelled it."

"That wise?"

"The fuck is it to you," Kenta said, glancing nervously between her and Nene's waxy face.

Chiyo nudged Nene's lips open and placed the pills in her mouth, following it down with a dribble of water.

"You're paying an awful lot of attention to this kid, sweetie," Chiyo said, tugging Nene's shirt up. Kenta looked embarrassedly away. Good thing too. Otherwise, he would have seen the purple bruises. "Sure you got your head on straight?"

"Paying attention? I haven't been anywhere near her."

"You don't have to be in the same room as someone to pay attention to them," Chiyo said. "Everyone's saying you've got a thing for high schoolers now."

"Everyone can go fuck themselves. Taizo's the one-"

Chiyo lifted her finger and pressed it to her lips. "Sh, sh, sh."

Nene writhed uncomfortably as Chiyo peeled away the old plaster, revealing an inch long gash crusted with pus.

"How did that happen?" Kenta asked, wincing.

"Sabu-chan says cut herself on some broken glass," Chiyo said. She gave the girl's face a thoughtful look. "I like her y'know, even if she did knock me out."

Kenta smiled.

"You're getting all doe-eyed. I'm being nice here but no one else is gonna be. You may be the boss but you have a bad track record when it comes to women-"

Kenta scoffed. "Compared to Taizo I'm-"

"_Taizo_ ain't in charge, honey," Chiyo said. "Everyone looks to you and they won't wanna look to someone who's got googly eyes for the enemy. You remember what happened last time."

"She's not the enemy," Kenta muttered, raking his hand over his face. "You finished?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll take it from here," he said, snatching the wet cloth from her hand.

"You gotta keep dabbing her with that."

"I know."

"Just saying… you were blushing like a schoolboy when I showed you her stomach."

"I can handle it," he ground out.

Chiyo stood up and sauntered over to the exit. "Don't get any ideas, Kenta. Girls like that like tall blonde foreigners who'll whisk 'em off to faraway places. Not dark haired villains who keep 'em locked in their cellars."

When she was gone, Kenta took her place on the stool. He watched the beads of sweat tremble down the sides of her face and fall into the dimple of her neck.

At least for now, while he had her chained to the walls of his badly upholstered lair he would keep replacing the cloth on her head and occasionally brush the sodden strands of hair out of her eyes.

* * *

When Nene came to the first thing she noticed was how desperately she needed to pee. The next was that she was in a different room. On her bedside, Kenta was leaning against the wall, asleep. Both her legs were unencumbered and she had the mad urge to make a run for it, even if she did have to piss herself to do it. Then she bent over the nearest bucket and threw up.

"Shit."

A hand pressed her back and another pulled her hair away.

"Just let me go," she begged.

"I can't."

"Why not?!"

"Because," he said, and she could sense the way he was trying to grope for a reason. It made it easier to breathe, easier to think it was Ryo with her, not Kenta. "Because… I can't pick you over Taizo."

Nene could feel her temperature rising. A part of her welcomed the fever, hoping it would knock her unconscious until this ordeal was over.

"You have no idea what he's done for me," he tried to explain.

"He's disgusting."

But Kenta didn't get offended. "Would you pick me over Kimi?"

"Kimi would never do something like this."

There was the longest pause where Nene couldn't bring herself to look at him.

Eventually she said, "I need to use the toilet."

He helped her to her feet, wiping her mouth with the back of his sleeves without a care, took her hand in his and led her outside. Nene noticed that the hallway was empty and more curiously that the door was unlocked from the beginning. There were no guards on the doors and she had no restraints. Even with a fever it was a high risk to take. Which meant that Kenta was more than capable of counteracting the risk.

"So how strong are you really?" Nene asked.

Kenta smiled wryly. "Pretty strong."

"It was all an act then," she said.

"It's easier to trust someone you think is weaker than you," Kenta said. "And I didn't think you would actually break my wrist."

"Dislocate. How did you know it was me?" Nene asked. "When I met you at the bar?"

"Teenage girl in a sling asking about Toyoshima Kimi stands out, y'know. I was told you were here the second you got in the queue."

Kenta revealed the intricacies of his plan. It seemed that he had had nothing to do with Kimi's attack and until now no idea that Taizo had. The only thing Kenta had been interested in was finding out who put Taizo in the hospital and Nene seemed like a prime candidate for grilling. Using an alias, he disguised himself as the sympathetic go-between lackey who could protect Nene from their mysterious leader. The more frightening he made the boogie man Kagone Kenta, the more appealing Murakami Ryo would seem to her.

"The beauty of the lesser of two evils," he said, "is the illusion of choice."

Each day the realisation that she was not nearly as clever as she had always presumed herself to be was growing stark.

Kenta waited outside of the toilet for her while she did her business and brushed her teeth and again she was reminded of their difference in strength. She ran it over in her head but quickly came to the conclusion that there was nothing she could do to outmanoeuvre him.

"You're a little more frightening than before," Nene admitted as they walked back down the corridor.

Kenta was holding her hand, maybe afraid that she would crumble and disappear, and at those words squeezed it reassuringly.

"Think of it this way," he said, throwing her one of his easy-going smiles over his shoulder, "I'm the scariest guy in this place and I'm holding your hand like a boy-scout."

"Saburo's scarier than you," she said.

Kenta's expression changed. "What did he do?"

"I may have lost my touch when it comes to figuring people out, but if there's one thing I'm good at," Nene said, pausing as she met Kenta's enquiring gaze, "its recognising monsters."

"From your experience with Heiwajima." The bitterness was clear in his voice, to both of them.

"Not just him," Nene muttered, fingering the bracelet on her wrist.

When they got back into her room Nene went to sleep and Kenta continued playing the role of nurse. It was a few hours later, just as he was starting to doze off himself when Chiyo came into the room and beckoned him out into the corridor. Saburo and Taizo were waiting for them. As usual they were both a picture of calm. You would never imagine that one was a murderer and the other was a stalker. Kenta tried to look at them through Nene's eyes and he hated to admit that 'monsters' was maybe too kind a description. But then he was no different.

"I still haven't found Kimi," said Taizo.

"Shit, I feel for your bro," Kenta said disinterestedly. "Gotta be tough being a stalker in a city as big as Tokyo."

"If she gets the police involved," said Saburo, "shit could get real complicated."

"Kimi's not gonna go to the police with all the dirt we have on her," said Chiyo, ever the voice of reason.

"She might if she thinks her best friend's in danger."

"Should have thought about that before you maimed said best friend, Sabu-chan," Chiyo said dryly, picking at her cuticle with a sharp nail file.

Saburo smirked at Chiyo. "Mad at me, Chi?"

"You didn't have to beat her up."

"Not my fault the kid can't take a punch."

"We need to get Kimi back," said Taizo, cutting across their bickering. "But the only way to do that is to give her proper incentive"

"Like a finger?" Saburo asked, genuinely curious.

"No one is sending anyone a fucking finger," snapped Kenta.

Taizo shot Saburo a tired look. "Of course that's not what I meant. I just figure we could take a few pictures of her. The way she is now. The bruises on her stomach, the cut, make it seem like we did those things in retaliation."

"What makes you think Kimi will even care?" Kenta challenged.

"There's nothing in this world she cares about more."

"Then why did she run off when she knows what's at stake?" Kenta asked, grinning sadistically at his second-in-command.

Taizo shrugged. "She got scared. And she's probably worried that I'll be mad at her for trying to escape or something."

"I wonder why she would think that," said Kenta. "Make contact with Kimi first and then we'll talk about your creepy little picture show."

Just as Kenta turned to go back into the room, Taizo's phone went off.

"That's convenient," Taizo said, holding up for Kenta to see the caller ID. "We should wake up Nene-chan, we might need her."

Groaning to himself, Kenta went into the room and nudged Nene awake.

"It's okay. Kimi's on the phone," Kenta reassured her, smiling like Ryo.

Her eyes widened as she found herself in the presence of three more people. Saburo flashed her a sharp smile and she felt her stomach throb as if to remind her what she was dealing with.

Taizo placed Kimi on loudspeaker and Nene leaned forward. The whole room leaned forward.

"Taizo," Kimi's stern voice sounded from the speaker.

"Kimi, I'm glad you've-"

"Shut up and listen."

There was silence. Nene resisted the urge to smile at the shocked expression on Taizo's face.

"Where's Nene?" Kimi asked.

"I can speak now?"

"You have one minute to get Nene," Kimi said, "Or you'll never see me again."

Taizo tossed Nene the phone.

"Kimi-chan," said Nene.

"Your voice sounds strange. Did they hurt you?"

Nene glanced at Taizo. He shook his head stiffly. "I have a fever. I got cut when I jumped out the window and the wound's infected. But I'm okay. They've been taking care of me."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"You can give the phone back to Taizo," said Kimi.

Nene handed the phone back to Taizo. His face was pale. Everyone in the room could sense that the confidence in Kimi's voice was not coming out of thin air. And they were all waiting for the big reveal.

"Kimi, I think you're forgetting that-"

"Murakami Anzu."

The silence that followed could have rivalled oblivion.

"I think it's about time you handed the phone over to Kenta," said Kimi.

Nene looked at Kenta and watched as the colour drained slowly from his face. Without meaning to, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She wanted him to know that Anzu was safe, that this was a get-out clause, that all he had to do was play Kimi's game. He stared at her blankly and then stood up and walked stiffly over to Taizo, taking the phone from him.

"This is Kenta."

"Long time no speak."

"Don't you think you're pushing your luck a little?" Kenta asked, tone surprisingly controlled. "Keep in mind that we currently have Nene at our mercy."

"And by now you should realise who I have at mine."

"Put her on the phone."

Muffled noises sounded on the other end and then a wailing shriek exploded from the receiver.

"_Ryo-niisan, Ryo-oh-oh-oooo! Help me! I'm so scared."_

"Anzu," Kenta shouted down the receiver, "Anzu, are you-"

"_Please help me. Akh! No! STOP IT! AKH!"_

"Back to the matter at hand," Kimi's unaffected voice cut through.

The phone was shuddering in Kenta's vice grasp. "I'm going to kill you-"

"Oh give me a break, Kenta. I'm not the one who played this card first. Now we're on a level playing field."

"You don't have the balls."

"Don't I?"

A nervous laugh escaped Kenta. Nene could see him unravelling and a part of her was suddenly very nervous about the game Kimi was playing. Nene remembered the way she had felt when the hospital had called her about Kimi and it became only too easy to understand how Kenta felt. And what he would do next.

"Level playing field huh? _I'll show you a fucking level playing field!_"

She was able to see the regret muddled in his crazed, frightened eyes in the brief seconds before he grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"Let's play a game," Kenta shouted down the phone over Nene's scream. "Who can make their girl cry the loudest? I dunno about you but I'm pretty fucking sure I'll win this one, Kimi. Somehow I don't think you know how to hurt the way I do-"

"_Ryo please don't do this_!" Nene shouted, grabbing his wrist and trying to shake him off.

"You hear that?" He wrenched Nene's hair again, causing her to scream again. He hauled her to her feet, dragged her into the centre of the room and flung her down. "You don't know, Kimi, but right now there are three guys in this room and I'm wondering which one is itching to have a go first. How about you Saburo? Or should it be me who has the honour. You know what, Kimi, I'll let you decide."

Nene looked up at Kenta, her bloodshot eyes widening. She looked at Taizo then at Saburo, each of their face's impassive. Chiyo had averted her gaze.

"I haven't heard anything from you in a while, Kimi. What's wrong, chicken shit, did reality hit home? I'm not some school girl you can just fuck with, I'm Kagone fucking-"

"If you lay another hand on Nene, I'll kill Anzu."

Kenta was panting heavily down the phone. "I don't believe that."

"Let me make it clear for you then. First, I'll pay a visit to Tiger Soul, see how they feel about the fact that The Gold Room, their biggest supplier has been swindling them for the past two years and has cost them just over half a million yen. And what about your competitors down in Itabashi. I bet they're just _itching_ to stick it to you after you took over their turf. But I'm sure they'd be willing to settle for your kid sister instead. Once they're done _having a go_ maybe I'll just hand her the gun and let her kill herself."

Nene was trembling, but it was the good kind of trembling, where all the adrenaline and tension was unwinding out of her and she let go.

Kenta's voice came out small and breathy when he spoke again. "What… do you want?"

"Let Nene go. Put her in a cab right now and send her to Russia Sushi. When I know she's safe you'll get your sister back."

The phone clicked off and a blaring dial tone filled the room. Kenta spun round and flung it at a nearby wall where it splintered into a million pieces. Then grabbing Nene by the elbow, he threw her at Chiyo.

"Put her in a cab."

Taizo looked like he was about to protest, but before he could say a word Kenta's fist came out of nowhere and connected with his face. Taizo flew back a few meters, sliding across the floor semi -conscious.

* * *

Chiyo led Nene out of the building in silence. The poor girl had already been feverish, but now she was practically convulsing in her arms. When they were outside, Chiyo hailed down a cab and put the girl inside. She wasn't sure if a hospital wouldn't be a better place for her, but it was best not to circumvent orders, not when they directly involved the leader's kid sister. Giving the cab driver instructions to take her to Russia Sushi, she handed him some money and with one wistful look at the squished slug, slammed the passenger door shut.

Inside, Kenta was sitting at the empty reception desk, smoking a spliff and looking dazedly up at the ceiling. The way he looked then, Chiyo didn't have the heart to tell him off and intending to leave him to his own devices until the wounds had scabbed a little, she turned and made for the bar to fix herself a strong drink.

"You think I was too harsh," Kenta said softly.

She cocked her head back, a sweet smile on her face. "Flies and honey, sweetheart."

"She looked at me like I was the devil."

"Can you blame her?"

"Maybe I am the devil."

Chiyo didn't say anything.

"I wanted to hurt her," he said, rubbing his face. "I still want to."

While Chiyo wasn't fond of Kenta's temper, he was their leader so as a rule she kept her mouth shut. Anyone else probably would have cracked under the hypocrisy of it all, but Chiyo was strong, strong enough to walk the line between the good and the bad to the necessary. It was what had made Kenta fall in love with her all those years ago when they were still dumb kids. It was a similar thing, Chiyo suspected that Kenta saw in Nene. But Kenta had never got the hang of walking the line.

Chiyo walked over to him and leaned across the reception desk, still smiling, except it felt heavy. "Sometimes I think you and Taizo are like a couple of spoiled kids who never grew up," she mused sadly. "Don't punish her for not loving you, Ryo."

"Then who do I punish?" asked Kenta.

"I don't know, sweetie, I'm not a vengeful type," said Chiyo.

"The scar on my thigh begs to differ," Kenta said, smiling dryly.

After Chiyo left, Kenta thought carefully over her words. Had he fallen in love with Nene? Anything was possible at this point. But he already knew that there wasn't a happy ending waiting at the end of the shit-stained rainbow. Not when he was about to destroy her prince charming.

* * *

Shizuo hadn't seen Nene for over a week now. He had been uneasy when she hadn't returned any of his phone calls (in this case uneasy meant a few poles were uprooted from the pavement and used as bats against annoying thugs who did not realise that this was THE WRONG FUCKING WEEK TO MESS WITH ME). Then Kimi explained that Nene was visiting a sick relative and that made him feel guilt and he'd calmed down. Now Kimi was texting him telling him to meet Nene at Russia Sushi and Shizuo couldn't have gotten out of the house faster.

He was looking forward to seeing her again. He could admit that. Shinra would have agreed that it was perfectly normal-

Shizuo did not want to use Shinra to justify his emotions.

At the restaurant, he took out a cigarette. He wanted to be calm today. He didn't want to snap and throw anything out a window, not when she was coming back from visiting a sick relative. Friends were supposed to support each other. Boyfriends… well he didn't really know what that entailed.

"Shizuo! Smoking is terrible for you," Simon called out as he handed out flyer. "Sushi is better, yes? _Much better_. Come inside and have some sushi. New product found at the bottom of the ocean tied to some bricks. Fresh as the freezer."

He had gone through six cigarettes by the time the cab arrived. Something that resembled Nene hobbled out of it.

"Nene?!"

Shizuo sprinted over to her and grabbed her shoulders to support her. Simon paused to watch them.

"What happened?" Shizuo demanded. "Oi, _Nene, _answer me_._"

But Nene just pressed her head against his chest.

"Come now Shizuo, let's go inside." Simon called out, already walking back into Russia Sushi.

"Eh Simon, you know what's going on?" Shizuo bellowed. He looked at Nene and smiled. Right then he was exerting every ounce of self-control he had stored up in his body over the last eighteen years to keep a cool head. "Yeah. Hey. Okay. Come on. Let's go inside."

He helped her into the restaurant. Ignoring the curious looks they got, Shizuo led her straight into the back and sat her down on a box of defrosting fish.

"Woah! What happened?" Shishizaki exclaimed. He had shirked his tables the moment he saw the state Nene was in and rushed into the back along with Simon and Shizuo.

"Where's Kimi?" Nene asked. Her hand was clutching Shizuo's tightly.

"I just got a call from her," said Shishizaki. "She said she'll be here in two minutes. Told me not to let you out of my sight."

Nene pressed her head against Shizuo's hip and rested it there. "Good. Don't let her out of your sight either."

Shishizaki knelt down so that he was eye level with Nene. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead. Nene glanced up at Shizuo. He looked back down and smiled.

"Hey Simon do we have any-oh thanks."

Simon had already returned from the washroom with a few wet cloths and passed them to Shishizaki.

"There is a mattress in Dennis's office," Simon said, smiling, but it was sadder somehow. "Nene can get some rest. Go sleep now."

Shizuo helped her to her feet and led her to Dennis's office. He watched over her as she lay down on the futon. Shishizaki came in behind them and placed the supplies beside Shizuo.

"I don't think she needs to go to the hospital. Are you two gonna be alright?" Shishizaki asked.

Shizuo nodded and sat down on the edge of the mattress, dipping a cloth into the bucket of ice water and wringing it with one hand, his knuckles turning bone white. Shishizaki remained for a few moments before leaving.

"Shizuo," said Nene.

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he said. He dabbed at her forehead, still smiling.

"You're not okay."

"Worry about yourself," Shizuo said, not unkindly.

She fought to keep her eyes open. "Don't leave."

"I won't."

"Not even for five minutes."

When he was sure she was asleep, he got to his feet quietly and left the office.

The restaurant was empty; all of the customers had left. Russia Sushi had closed early. He found Shishizaki and Dennis sitting in one of the booths along with Toyoshima Kimi. She was deathly pale as she sipped a cup of tea.

"How is she?" Kimi asked. It wasn't the first time she had asked that question since arriving at the restaurant, but like a record stuck on repeat it was all she knew how to say.

Shizuo threw her the wet cloth. "See for yourself."

Kimi stared at the cloth blankly. Tears filled her eyes. Shizuo placed his hand on her head and gave her the warmest smile he could muster.

"You two need each other right now," he said.

Kimi stood up, a muttered thanks falling from her lips and then sprinted into the back leaving the remaining men to sit and contemplate what had just happened.

"She won't tell us what happened," Shishizaki said quietly, placing his head in his hands. The dopey expression Shizuo was used to seeing on his senpai's face was gone. "If I had known they were in trouble I could have..."

"They'll tell us everything when they're ready. For now you must remain calm," Dennis said, placing his hand on Shishizaki's shoulder. "And where are you going?"

Shizuo had walked over to the exit. There was a deathly aura coming off of him in waves now that neither of the girls was in his immediate presence.

"Gotta find Izaya so I can kill him."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Okay... it's slightly dramatic. Not sure how I feel about it, especially the confrontation between Kenta/Ryo and Kimi and the whole element of rape as a threat. Lemme know what you guys think about that. I might change it because to be honest, it doesn't sit too well with me. If any of you feel the same way, please let me know! And if you feel the complete opposite also please let me know!

SHIZUO'S BACK. I know the romancey stuff with Nene and Shizuo is a little slow moving, but in fairness, Shizuo feels like the type who wouldn't be all up for making out/passionately pushing her up against a wall unless he read a manual first, tore up the manual in frustration, asked her for permission like six times and then got it in writing. And Nene the awesome pervert would probably have a nosebleed and pass out if he made Fabio-esque like advances, so it's taking a little time for me to tackle that. Plus I'm toying with a scene still. God how I love drama.

So, a few things in light of the reviews. THERE'S GONNA BE A NEW DURARARA SEASON. **chronotempus** Thank you for informing me. I am so excited, I just wish they would give us more information. Anyone watched the new Sailor Moon anime...? Dunno how to feel about that just yet. I haven't read the manga, and Sailor Moon, big part of the childhood so not sure whether or not to keep with it in case it ruins it. So far it seems to be doing the exact same thing, except a little less funny.

LOL! At all the shipping. I haven't tallied the votes **(go check out the poll on my page)** but I'm thinking people are more for Izaya X Nene. Poor Shizuo. Admittedly, I have put way more focus on Nene and Izaya's relationship, but who knows what'll happen! For all you guys know I might be an epic troll and Kimi could reveal her undying love for Nene in a progressive lesbian twist, and they could end up running away together on a fat purple unicorn. Don't worry, it won't be like that. I hate unicorns. Probably it'll be a lion.

I'm getting a lot of reviews begging me not to abandon the story. **Aera **to be compared to community channel... how could you... surely I'm not that- *hangs head in shame* Yeah I'll try to be better. Anyway, no intention of abandoning this baby. I've invested too many years on it to let it go without it ending. I'm just a slow updater. Although, this chapter has been written up for like three months, I was just really worried about it. By the way, I have graduated! Wop woop. Again, this does not mean faster updates because I am a lazy bastard. Also I have sick family to deal with, which is taking 90% of my time. Soon, I will hopefully get a job and stop being a bum. BUT I WILL FINISH THIS STORY. EVEN IF THEY ANNOUNCE THE SECOND COMING!

I wanna know if people can guess what happens in the next chapter. I'm curious. Am I becoming too predictable/Am I too unpredictable. Is there the right amount of mystery? Also do you guys think I'm too exposition-y, giving too much away by way of 'Telling not showing'. I feel the last few chapters have been a little patronising to the reader, so may go over them. Your feedback is always appreciated!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Check back in ten years for the next one.


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